Little  Histories 

tf 

North  American  Indians 


No.  5 


CORN  AMONG 
INDIANS  OF  THE 
UPPER  MISSOURI 

GEORGE  F.  WILL 
GEORGE  E.  HYDE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


LITTLE  HISTORIES 
OF  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS 

Number  Five 


CORN  AMONG  THE 
INDIANS  OF  THE 
UPPER  MISSOURI 


BY 

GEORGE  F.  WILL 

AND 

GEORGE  E.  HYDE 


THE  WILLIAM  HARVEY  MINER  CO.,  INC 

SAINT  LOUIS,  MISSOURI 

NINETEEN  SEVENTEEN 


COPYRIGHT  1917  BY 
GEORGE  F.  WILL  AND  GEORGE  E.  HYDE 


THE  TORCH   PRESS 

CEDAR  RAPIDS 

IOWA 


DEDICATION 

With  the  permission  of  Mr.  Hyde 
I  dedicate  this  volume  to  my  father, 
Oscar  H.  Will,  who  in  1881  first  perceived 
the  value  of  the  native  varieties  of  corn 
from  the  Upper  Missouri  Valley,  and 
who  began  at  that  time  the  work  of  se- 
lecting and  breeding  from  them,  to  the 
lasting  benefit  of  the  farmers  of  the 
Northwest. 

GEOKGE  F.  WILL 


CONTENTS 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 15 

INTRODUCTION 19 

I  —  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  INDIANS      ...  34 

1.  Migrations  and  early  history  .        .  34 

2.  The  earth-lodge  village    ...  50 

3.  Agriculture      .        .        .                 .  59 

II  —  PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION        ...  77 

1.  Spring  work:  clearing  and  planting 

the  ground 77 

2.  Hoeing  and  weeding       ...  91 

3.  The  patches,  acreage,  and  yields      .  97 

III  — HARVEST 110 

1.  The  return  from  the  summer  hunt  .  110 

2.  '  The  green-corn  harvest  .        .        .  115 

3.  The  ripe-corn  harvest      .        .        .  124 
y^f.     Storing  the  crop      ....  133 

5.     Yields       .        .        .        .        .        .  141 

IV  —  CORN  AS  FOOD T44 

1.  Methods  of  preparing  corn      .        .  147 

2.  Utensils 164 

V  —  CORN  AS  AN  ARTICLE  OP  TRADE  .        .        .  I7T 

1.  Early  intertribal  trade  .         .         .  171 

2.  Trade  with  the  whites      .        .        .  191 

VI  —  THE  SACRED  CHARACTER  OP  CORN           .            .  198 

1.  The  corn  and  the  buffalo        .        .  205 

2.  Corn  origin  myths  ....  210 


10  CONTENTS 

VII  —  CORN  CEREMONIES 237 

1.  Ceremonial  organization         .        .  238 

2.  Sacred  corn 248 

3.  Spring,  Bummer,  and  fall  ceremonies  257 

4.  Various    ceremonies,    beliefs,    and 

practices 276 

VIII— VARIETIES 284 

Arikaras 301 

Hidatsas 303 

Mandans 303 

lowas .  305 

Omalias 305 

Otoes 307 

.Pawnees 308 

Ponkas 310 

Sioux 311 

Chippewas 314 

Winnebagoes 316 

Iroquois 316 

Varieties  from  the  Southwest        .        .  317 

Additional  varieties       ....  318 

Index      .  319 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

SET  OF  HIDATSA  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS    Frontispiece 

DAKOTA  WHITE  FLINT  —  GEHU  YELLOW  FLINT  .  25 
BED  LAKE  CHIPPEWA  FLINT  —  MANDAN  WHITE 

FLINT LA    POINTE    CHIPPEWA   FLINT FORT 

TOTTEN   SlOUX -        .  37 

EARS  OF  FORT  PECK  CORN 42 

MANDAN  SQUASH 67 

RAWHIDE  BOWL  AND  STONE  MORTAR  ...  85 

BONE  HOE 85 

PAWNEE  CORN 96 

PONKA  CORN 96 

MANDAN  SOFT  RED  CORN  .....  Ill 
MODERN  WHITE  DENT  AND  MANDAN  WHITE  FLOUR 

CORN 121 

PONKA  RED  FLOUR,  GRAY  FLOUR,  RED  SPECKLED 

FLOUR,  AND  SWEET  CORN 121 

BASKETS  OF  THE  MANDANS,  HIDATSAS,  AND  ARI- 

KARAS        .        .        .        .        .        .        ,        .  125 

ARIKARA  WOMAN  THRESHING  CORN  .  .  .  131 

SCATTERED  CORN  AND  FAMILY  ....  131 

MANDAN  CORN 139 

MANDAN  SQUASH 150 

PAWNEE  CORN 155 

PLANTS  OF  FOUR  VARIETIES  OF  Sioux  CORN  .  .  167 

MANDAN  BLUE  AND  WHITE  SPOTTED  CORN  .  .  177 

MANDAN  SOFT  WHITE  CORN  201 


12  ILLUSTRATIONS 

OMAHA,  IOWA,  AND  OTO  CORN      ....  213 

MANDAN  BLACK  CORN 231 

PAWNEE  BLUE  SPECKLED  CORN      ....  245 

SCATTERED  CORN 245 

MANDAN  SOFT  YELLOW  CORN        ....  255 

MANDAN  BLUE  CORN 265 

WlNNEBAGO  MIXED  FLINT  —  MlXED  FLINT,  LOWER 

BRULE  287 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 
OF    THE    UPPER   MISSOURI 


In  preparing  this  study  of  the  agriculture,  and 
more  particularly  the  corn  culture,  of  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  region  we  have  of 
course  drawn  items  from  very  many  sources,  and 
we  are  indebted  to  many  persons  for  assistance 
of  one  sort  or  another.  In  working  over  the  ma- 
terial we  have  conducted  rather  extensive  experi- 
ments in  raising  corn  from  the  different  tribes  in 
order  to  gain  more  complete  information  on  the 
varieties. 

For  a  deep  and  encouraging  interest  in  the 
work  and  much  material  aid  in  the  matter  of  fur- 
nishing seed  of  a  great  many  kinds  of  corn  we  are 
especially  indebted  to  Mr.  M.  L.  Wilson  of  the 
Montana  Agricultural  College,  State  Leader  of 
County  Agents,  who  has  also  furnished  some  in- 
teresting data,  from  which  we  have  drawn,  in  the 
Montana  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  107. 

For  seed  and  information  supplied  we  are  also 
greatly  indebted  to  Dr.  Melvin  R.  Gilmore,  Mr.  H. 
C.  Fish,  of  the  Minot,  N.  D.,  Normal  School,  to 
Mr.  Thomas  Cory,  of  the  Moose  Mountain  Re- 
serve, Carlysle,  Sask.,  to  Mr.  James  McDonald,  of 
the  Pipestone  Reserve,  Griswold,  Manitoba,  Mr. 


16  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

R.  P.  Stanion,  Superintendent,  Otoe  Agency,  Otoe, 
Okla.,  Mr.  J.  H.  Johnson,  Superintendent,  Sac  and 
Fox  Indian  School,  Stroud,  Okla.,  and  to  George 
Bent  of  the  Cheyennes,  Joseph  Springer  of  the 
lowas,  and  James  Murie  of  the  Pawnees. 

Mr.  Will's  special  acknowledgements  are  due 
to  Dr.  Gilbert  L.  Wilson  of  Minneapolis,  who  has 
spent  much  time  and  enthusiasm  in  collecting  data 
on  Hidatsa  agriculture,  for  kindness  in  permitting 
a  reading  of  his  notes  and  for  opportunities  for 
profitable  comparison  of  material  on  the  Hidatsas; 
to  Scattered  Corn,  daughter  of  the  last  Mandan 
corn  priest,  and  to  her  son,  James  Holding  Eagle, 
for  a  great  deal  of  assistance  in  everything  con- 
cerning Mandan  agriculture  and  for  a  deep  in- 
terest in  having  the  subject  properly  understood 
and  presented;  to  Dr.  Melvin  E.  Gilmore  of  the 
North  Dakota  Historical  Society,  formerly  of  the 
Nebraska  Historical  Society,  for  seed  of  many 
varieties  of  corn  and  for  much  profitable  inter- 
change of  thought  and  knowledge  on  the  subject 
of  Indian  agriculture;  to  various  members  of  the 
staff  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
of  New  York,  for  specimens  of  corn  and  for  lend- 
ing encouragement  to  the  study;  to  Professor  E. 
B.  Dixon  of  Harvard  University  for  much  en- 
couraging interest  and  for  opportune  and  kindly 
advice ;  and  to  Dr.  C.  L.  Hall,  the  veteran  mission- 
ary of  the  Fort  Berthold  Eeservation,  and  to  his 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS  17 

family,  for  many  favors  accorded  during  every 
visit  to  the  reservation,  for  data  on  the  corn  of  the 
three  Berthold  tribes,  and  especially  for  informa- 
tion on  basket-making  and  the  acquisition  of  a 
number  of  baskets. 

Mr.  Hyde's  acknowledgements  are  also  due  to 
Dr.  Gilmore,  for  seed  and  information  supplied 
on  many  occasions;  and  to  Mr.  Duncan  C.  Scott, 
of  the  Canadian  Indian  Office,  for  assistance  in 
obtaining  information  on  Canadian  Indian  corn; 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Cory  of  the  Moose  Mountain  Re- 
serve, for  information  on  Assiniboin  agriculture 
and  for  seed  furnished;  to  Mr.  James  McDonald 
of  the  Griswold  Agency,  for  similar  information 
on  the  Refugee-Sioux  and  for  seed  from  th&t 
tribe;  to  Mr.  George  Bird  Grinnell  of  New  York 
City,  for  much  assistance  and  advice  and  for  some 
very  interesting  notes  on  Cheyenne  agriculture; 
to  Mr.  G.  N.  Collins  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry, Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.C.,  for  information  and  for  assistance  rendered 
on  several  occasions;  and  to  George  Bent  of  the 
Cheyennes,  for  information  and  for  some  ears  of 
Wichita  corn. 

No  list  of  the  printed  authorities  consulted  has 
been  compiled,  but  the  sources  from  which  mate- 
rial of  this  class  has  been  drawn  are  always  indi- 
cated in  the  text  or  in  the  footnotes.  The  Coues' 
edition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  was  used  except  in  a 


18  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

few  instances  in  which  the  Thwaites'  edition  of 
the  original  journals  was  consulted.  The  quota- 
tions from  Long,  Maximilian,  Brackenridge,  and 
Bradbury  are  all  taken  from  the  Thwaites,  Early 
Western  Travels. 


INTRODUCTION 

Corn,  as  every  one  knows  but  most  of  us  often 
forget,  is  a  gift  to  us  from  the  Indian  race.  In 
the  early  period  of  colonization,  our  ancestors 
along  the  Atlantic  coast  were  glad  and  even  thank- 
ful to  take  the  Indian's  corn  and  to  learn  from  him 
the  methods  of  growing  and  handling  the  crop. 
With  the  first  knowledge  of  corn  and  its  culture 
received  from  the  tribes  near  the  coast  from  New 
England  to  Virginia  and  Carolina,  however,  the 
American  farmer  has  felt,  generally,  that  there 
was  nothing  further  to  be  learned  from  the  In- 
dians about  corn.  The  pioneer  too  often  failed 
to  realize  that  each  new  region  settled  presented 
new  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  and  that  the 
best  way  to  learn  how  to  meet  and  overcome  these 
conditions  was  to  study  the  methods  of  the  local 
tribes,  who  often  had  been  growing  corn  in  that 
particular  region  for  two  or  three  hundred  years, 
and  who  during  this  long  period  of  time  had 
learned  from  hard  experience  the  varieties  of  corn 
and  the  cultural  methods  best  suited  to  the  local 
conditions. 

The  first  white  settlers  in  the  Upper  Missouri 
country  failed  to  understand  these  facts.  For  a 


20  INTRODUCTION 

long  time  the  only  whites  in  all  this  region  were 
the  fur  traders  and  their  followers,  the  free  trap- 
pers, and  the  United  States  Indian  agents.  None 
of  these  men  were  engaged  in  agriculture.  The 
traders  for  the  most  part  thought  of  corn  only  as 
something  to  be  bought  from  the  Indians,  while 
their  followers,  who  often  married  into  the  tribes, 
were  usually  content  to  let  their  wives  raise  what 
corn  was  needed  without  themselves  giving  much 
attention  to  the  matter. 

We  find  some  of  the  Indian  agents  experiment- 
ing with  corn  at  a  rather  early  date ;  but  for  the 
most  part  the  corn  they  tried  out  was  from  the 
east;  the  native  varieties  were  discarded,  usually 
without  investigation  as  to  their  usefulness,  and 
we  often  find  the  Indian  corn,  even  as  far  up  as 
Fort  Berthold  in  North  Dakota,  mentioned  dis- 
paragingly in  the  agents'  reports.  In  the  more 
northern  and  arid  sections  however  the  fact  soon 
became  evident  that  eastern  varieties  of  corn 
could  not  be  depended  upon  to  make  a  crop,  and 
thereafter  some  of  the  agents  became  really  in- 
terested in  the  hardier  types  of  native  corn.  The 
agent  for  the  Bed  Cloud  Sioux  in  his  report  for 
1873  referred  to  the  Eee  corn  as  a  hardy  accli- 
mated variety  and  asked  to  be  supplied  with  seed 
of  this  sort.  Soon  after  that  date  we  find  the 
Indian  Office  sending  out  Kee  seed  to  be  tested 
at  several  of  the  northern  agencies.  Some  Eee 


INTRODUCTION  21 

corn  was  sent  to  the  Fort  Peck  Agency,  Montana, 
in  1878  (apparently  also  to  the  Crow  Agency  in 
Montana)  and  proved  very  satisfactory. 

As  to  whether  the  corn  of  the  tribes  of  the 
lower  Missouri  Valley  was  extensively  grown  by 
the  pioneer  white  settlers,  the  records  are  silent; 
but  it  seems  probable  that  these  native  varieties 
were  used,  to  some  extent,  during  the  first  period 
of  settlement.  Sturtevant  in  his  list  of  varieties 
grown  by  the  whites  (1884)  mentions  both  an 
Omaha  blue  corn  and  a  Mandan  " squaw  corn," 
the  former  variety  being  grown  as  far  east  as  Il- 
linois ;  while  an  old  settler  in  Kansas  speaks  of  a 
very  early  variety,  called  yellow  maiden  corn, 
seemingly  a  native  corn,  which  he  implies  was 
popular  among  the  pioneer  settlers  in  the  lower 
valley  of  Kansas  River.  We  hear  occasionally  of 
blue  corn,  white  flour  corn,  and  mixed  corn  of 
numerous  types,  all  usually  lumped  together  as 
"squaw  corn,"  and  always  as  pioneer  varieties. 

It  has  been  the  history  of  western  settlement, 
however,  that  as  soon  as  the  pioneer  conditions 
were  overcome  in  a  new  region  and  it  was  demon- 
strated to  the  settlers'  satisfaction  that  the  new 
country  was  not  so  very  different  from  the  old 
home  back  east,  at  once  the  desire  arose  to  culti- 
vate the  same  crops  and  the  same  varieties  of  corn 
that  they  had  formerly  raised  in  the  east,  in  order 
to  form  a  comparison  of  conditions  in  their  new 


22  INTRODUCTION 

home  with  those  in  the  old.  Such  attempts  to  ac- 
climatize corn  from  the  east  or  south  in  newly 
settled  regions  often  proved  successful  and  usual- 
ly led  to  the  immediate  abandonment  of  the  native 
corns  which  the  first  settlers  in  the  new  country 
had  of  necessity  made  use  of.  But  in  the  north 
and  in  the  arid  west  these  attempts  often  failed. 
In  New  England,  although  experiments  with  dent 
corn  have  been  made  from  time  to  time,  the  flint 
corns  obtained  by  the  first  settlers  from  the  In- 
dians are  still  the  main  dependence.  The  well 
known  and  widely  diffused  King  Philip  corn  is 
one  of  the  surviving  varieties  of  the  pioneer  New 
England  flints.  This  permanency  of  the  original 
Indian  varieties  is  true  also  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent in  New  York.  Farther  south  the  dent  corns 
were  received  from  the  Indians  and,  being  prolific 
in  the  south  and  in  all  of  the  milder  regions,  these 
varieties  soon  came  to  be  the  staple  type  in  the 
southern  and  central  or  Corn  Belt  states. 

As  the  frontier  moved  westward  and  north- 
ward from  the  milder  central  states,  and  as  the 
settlers  became  established  and  corn  selection  and 
breeding  began  to  claim  attention,  the  desire  to 
emulate  the  achievements  of  "back  home"  in  corn 
raising  made  it  almost  inevitable  that  the  dent 
corn  should  be  chosen  for  cultivation  by  the  bulk 
of  the  people.  The  more  the  dent  corn  area  en- 
larged its  bounds  the  more  readily  did  its  acquired 


INTRODUCTION  23 

momentum  push  it  farther  and  farther,  frequently 
so  that  no  other  types  of  corn  were  ever  tried  in 
many  of  the  newly  settled  localities. 

In  this  way  Iowa,  Nebraska,  all  the  states  lower 
down  the  river,  and  even  southeastern  South  Da- 
kota very  rapidly  passed  through  whatever  pio- 
neer period  there  was  of  growing  " squaw  corn," 
and  became  part  of  the  dent  corn  area,  Southern 
Minnesota  did  not  abandon  the  hardy  Indian  flints 
as  early  —  perhaps  because  of  the  Scandinavian 
population  who  had  never  raised  corn  "back 
home"  and  who  also  were  naturally  conservative. 
Robinson  says  (Early  Economic  Conditions  and 
the  Development  of  Agriculture  in  Minnesota, 
1915,  p.  176)  that  up  to  1899  corn  was  only  raised 
in  the  southern  tier  of  counties  and  was  mostly 
flint  and  squaw  corn. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  above  that  the  native 
corns  of  the  Indians  along  the  lower  course  of  the 
Missouri,  however  valuable  they  may  have  proven 
had  the  attention  of  breeders  been  turned  to  them, 
were  neglected,  and  allowed  in  many  cases  to  de- 
generate and  often  to  disappear,  without  arousing 
the  slightest  interest  or  consideration  from  the 
agricultural  investigators  of  the  region.  It  seems 
very  possible  that  qualities  of  value  may  have 
been  thus  lost. 

As  the  frontier  moved  up  the  Missouri  valley 
into  South  Dakota,  however,  the  triumphal  pro- 


24  INTRODUCTION 

gress  of  the  dent  corns  began  to  slacken.  As  the 
latitude  and  altitude  both  increased  and  the  rain- 
fall became  less,  it  grew  to  be  a  much  longer  and 
more  difficult  task  to  acclimate  dent  varieties  of 
corn.  In  this  region  also  the  flint  and  flour  corns 
of  the  Rees  and  Mandans  had  acquired  some  repu- 
tation all  up  and  down  the  river  and  even  in  the 
writings  of  the  time,  for  their  extreme  hardiness. 
Ree  corn,  talked  of  by  all  the  tribes,  had  been 
officially  distributed  on  many  of  the  reservations. 
Even  in  fur  trading  times  corn  from  the  Mandans 
was  taken,  to  the  Red  River  posts.  In  fact  it  is 
probable  that  the  corn  of  the  northern  Minnesota 
Chippewas  was  derived  from  this  source,  so  like 
is  it  in  general  character  and  appearance. 

The  early  traders,  the  wood  hawks,  and  such  of 
the  nomadic  frontiersmen  as  married  Indian  wo- 
men and  settled  down,  all  raised  the  corn  of  the 
Indians ;  and  when  the  first  real  settlement  of  the 
region  began  in  the  seventies,  bringing  with  it  a 
real  farming  population,  many  of  these  oldtimers 
took  up  pieces  of  land  along  with  the  newcomers. 
Very  soon  there  arose  a  demand  for  corn  among 
these  pioneer  farmers  from  the  east  and  for  a  time 
the  mixed  Indian  corn  was  adopted  by  all  of  them. 

Some  few  of  the  new  settlers  saw  the  real  value 
and  probable  importance  of  the  hardy  native  corn 
and  started  the  work  of  improving  it;  and  all  of 
the  better  farmers  soon  established  improved 


1.  DAKOTA  WHITE  FLINT         2.  GEHU  YELLOW  FLINT 


INTRODUCTION  27 

strains  of  the  mixed  flints.  In  1882  Mr.  0.  H.  Will 
of  Bismarck,  N.  D.,  procured  seed  of  the  mixed 
flint  from  the  Fort  Berthold  Indians,  and  Mr. 
Alphonso  Boley,  of  Mandan,  N.  D.,  also  secured 
some  at  about  the  same  time.  From  these  acquisi- 
tions both  began  the  selection  and  improvement  of 
a  pure  white  flint.  Mr.  Boley  selected  for  size 
and  large  number  of  rows  and  produced  a  large- 
cobbed  corn  which  shells  a  rather  low  percentage 
and  which  is  slow  in  drying  out  in  the  fall ;  it  has 
never  been  very  popular,  and  has  not  been  raised 
outside  of  the  Missouri  Valley  in  North  Dakota. 

Mr.  Will  selected  eight  and  ten  rowed  ears,  long 
but  with  a  small  cob  which  dries  out  early.  This 
corn,  called  Dakota  White  Flint,  was  first  distrib- 
uted in  1886,  and  its  spread  over  the  newly  settled 
regions  of  the  Northwest  was  immediate.  It  is 
described  as  follows  in  Bulletin  No.  107  of  the 
Montana  Experiment  Station :  *  *  Early  flint ;  ears 
six  to  ten  inches  long,  and  gently  tapering;  eight 
to  twelve  rows  of  kernels ;  kernels  white,  small  and 
blocky ;  cob  white ;  stalks  from  twenty-eight  to  for- 
ty-eight inches  high  according  to  season;  ears 
borne  from  four  to  ten  inches  from  the  ground; 
numerous  suckers  and  fine  leaves." 

At  about  the  time  of  the  first  distribution  of  the 
Dakota  Flint,  Mr.  L.  D.  Judkins  of  Bismarck 
raised  some  and  crossed  it  with  Mercer  Flint,  a 
later  eastern  flint,  and  from  this  cross  was  pro- 


28  INTRODUCTION 

duced  the  best  known  corn  of  Mandan  origin,  the 
Gehu  Yellow  Flint. 

In  addition  to  the  two  above  varieties,  this  Mon- 
tana bulletin,  which  is  the  first  publication  to  give 
a  satisfactory  description  of  the  northwestern 
varieties  of  corn,  names  the  following  varieties, 
derived  from  the  old  Mandan  and  Eee  Indian 
corns: 

Burleigh  County  Mixed.  Catalogued  by  Mr. 
Will  in  1887.  An  improved  mixed  flint  of  Mandan 
origin  ...  of  quite  high  yield  and  good  qual- 
ity. 

Mixed  Indian  Corn.  Squaw  corn,  flint  and 
starch  corn  mixed. 

Fort  Peck  Indian  Corn.  Mixed  early  flint.  This 
strain  is  of  Mandan  origin,  but  has  been  grown  on 
the  Fort  Peck  and  Fort  Belknap  Indian  reserva- 
tions for  over  thirty  years,  and  is  now  earlier  in 
season  than  the  modern  Mandan  corn. 

Beal  Corn.  Much  raised  in  Burleigh,  Emmons, 
and  contiguous  counties  in  North  Dakota.  It  is  a 
cross  between  the  mixed  flint  and  some  unknown 
dent,  and  is  very  hardy  and  a  heavy  yielder. 

Ivory  King.  An  improved  variety  of  Indian 
white  flour  corn  from  unknown  sources. 

Bee  Corn.  Mixed  flour  corn,  grown  in  South 
Dakota. 

All  of  these  varieties  show  the  exceptionally 
hardy  characteristics  of  the  Mandan  and  Arikara 


INTRODUCTION  29 

corn,  ripen  very  early,  and,  under  favorable  con- 
ditions, will  yield  as  high  as  fifty  to  seventy  bushels 
per  acre.  The  Dakota  White  Flint,  of  pure  Man- 
dan  blood,  on  a  Northern  Pacific  Railway  demon- 
stration farm  near  Elgin,  N.  D.,  gave  a  yield  of 
seventy  bushels  per  acre  in  1914.  It  has  yielded 
over  forty  bushels  per  acre  in  eastern  Montana, 
and  often  reaches  that  figure  for  very  large  fields 
in  North  Dakota;  this  variety  has  also  ripened  a 
good  crop  at  Bozeman,  Mont.,  at  an  elevation  of 
6,000  feet.  The  Gehu  has  ripened  well  and  yielded 
fifty  bushels  per  acre  in  the  Flathead  section  of 
Montana,  under  the  shadow  of  snow-capped  moun- 
tains. 

For  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years  these  hardy 
types  of  corn  were  the  only  ones  grown  in  the 
Northwest,  and  many  a  struggling  homesteader 
in  the  lean  years  owed  his  home  and  the  founda- 
tion of  his  success  to  them ;  when  wheat  failed  and 
there  was  no  market  for  other  grains,  flint  corn 
and  a  few  pigs  and  cattle  invariably  tided  him 
over  the  winter. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  improvement  and 
breeding  of  corn  for  this  region  remained  at  a 
standstill,  and  the  crossing  experiments  and  sel- 
ecting that  should  have  been  done  in  those  years 
remain  for  the  most  part  undone,  even  yet. 

An  unusually  hardy  and  early  red  dent  was 
brought  into  the  Missouri  Valley  in  North  Dakota 


30  INTRODUCTION 

along  toward  the  beginning  of  the  second  period 
of  settlement,  in  the  late  nineties,  and  soon  became 
fairly  well  acclimated.  This  corn,  called  North- 
western Dent,  is  really  a  semi-dent,  and  shows  the 
characteristics  of  the  Indian  types  of  corn  both  in 
appearance  and  ability  to  withstand  severe  condi- 
tions. As  soon  as  this  corn  became  distributed 
and  generally  known  the  period  of  emulation  of 
the  older  corn  country  was  open  and  almost  every- 
one rushed  to  the  trying  out  and  acclimating  of 
various  dent  corns. 

In  the  rigorous  process  of  selection  under  cli- 
matic conditions  the  hardiest  dent  types  were  soon 
all  that  survived,  and  it  has  become  more  and 
more  apparent  that,  outside  of  the  few  localities 
with  exceptionally  heavy  soil  and  fairly  low  alti- 
tude such  as  the  southeastern  part  of  the  Red 
River  Valley,  as  the  dents  become  hardy  and  ac- 
climated the  ears  become  smaller  and  the  yield 
less.  The  Northwestern  Dent  is  the  only  sort  of 
dent  that  has  kept  a  fairly  constant  yield,  and, 
while  it  surpasses  perhaps  in  amount  of  silage, 
yet  it  hardly  comes  up  to  the  native  flints  in  yield 
of  grain. 

Some  few  of  the  most  conservative  of  the  old 
settlers  did  not  take  up  with  the  new  dents,  and 
gradually  their  neighbors  have  learned  that  the 
dents  are  being  consistently  outyielded  by  the  old 
native  varieties,  except  upon  the  heaviest  and 


INTRODUCTION  31 

richest  soils.  This  has  been  grudgingly  admitted, 
especially  by  the  agricultural  experts  and  authori- 
ties, but  within  the  past  three  years  there  has  been 
a  steady  shift  in  the  current  of  agricultural  senti- 
ment in  the  northwestern  states  and  the  demand 
for  the  native  flints  is  steadily  and  rapidly  increas- 
ing. The  common  sense  report  on  these  varieties, 
in  Bulletin  No.  107  of  the  Montana  Experiment 
Station,  by  Professor  Alfred  Atkinson  and  M.  L. 
Wilson  has  done  much  to  bring  this  change  about. 
The  common  cry  of  the  opponents  of  the  native 
flints  is  that  corn  of  this  type  grows  so  low  that 
the  ears  are  very  hard  to  gather.  This  is  the  only 
valid  argument  against  these  flints ;  and  surely  as 
their  superiority  is  continually  more  and  more 
clearly  demonstrated,  machinery  to  handle  the 
crop  properly  will  be  invented. 

Several  years  ago,  at  about  the  time  when  it 
began  to  be  realized  that  dent  corn  could  not  be 
generally  successful  in  the  Northwest,  interest  in 
the  old  native  varieties  was  revived  and  six  or 
seven  men,  working  independently,  took  up  anew 
the  study  of  the  Indian  corn  of  the  Missouri  Val- 
ley. At  first  it  was  supposed  that  many  of  these 
varieties  had  been  lost  and  that  most  of  the  others 
had  been  permitted  to  degenerate  into  the  condi- 
tion of  mere  squaw  corn,  but  as  the  work  pro- 
gressed it  was  learned  that  a  surprising  number 
of  the  old  varieties  still  existed  in  pure  or  almost 


32  INTRODUCTION 

pure  strains.  Thus  of  thirteen  varieties  said  to 
have  been  grown  by  the  Mandans  in  early  times, 
all  except  four  have  been  found,  and  most  of  these 
varieties  are  still  quite  pure  strains  today. 
Among  the  Pawnees  nine  varieties  were  found, 
practically  all  pure  strains,  and  among  the  Oma- 
has  about  the  same  number,  half  of  them  pure 
strains,  the  rest  rather  badly  mixed.  Altogether 
some  fifty  varieties  have  been  found  among  the 
tribes  that  formerly  practised  agriculture  in  the 
Missouri  Valley,  not  including  any  of  the  Sioux. 
In  the  following  pages  the  present  authors  in- 
tend to  describe  these  newly  discovered  varieties 
of  native  corn;  and  to  give  some  account  of  the 
agricultural  methods  of  the  Upper  Missouri  In- 
dians, of  their  manner  of  harvesting  and  storing 
the  crop,  of  the  ways  in  which  they  prepared  corn 
for  food,  of  their  traditions  relating  to  the  origin 
of  corn,  and  of  their  corn  rites.  This  work  should 
have  been  undertaken  fifty  years  ago  when  a  great 
deal  of  material,  now  lost,  was  still  available.  At 
this  late  day  the  task  has  been  fraught  with  many 
difficulties,  some  of  which  have  proved  insur- 
mountable ;  and  as  it  was  not  possible  for  the  au- 
thors to  make  personal  visits  to  all  of  the  tribes, 
much  valuable  material  has  been  missed — mate- 
rial which  certainly  still  exists,  but  which  will  be 
lost  with  the  death  of  the  older  Indians,  who  alone 
know  of  these  things. 


INTRODUCTION  33 

The  work  of  collecting  seed  of  the  old  Indian 
varieties  of  corn  has  been  very  successful ;  nearly 
all  of  the  sorts  formerly  grown  by  the  tribes  along 
the  Missouri,  from  the  Platte  northward,  have 
been  recovered,  experimental  plantings  have  been 
made,  and  the  seed  has  been  rather  widely  dis- 
tributed among  corn-breeders. 

The  work  of  breeding  and  crossing  these  native 
corns  will  now  be  taken  up  again ;  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  hardier  and  heavier  yielding  varieties 
for  the  Northwest  may  be  ultimately  produced  in 
abundance. 


I  — THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  INDIANS 

1.    MIGRATIONS  AND  EARLY  HISTORY.    2.     THE  EARTH- 
LODGE  VILLAGE.    3.    AGRICULTURE 

1.    Migrations  and  early  history 

In  the  days  of  the  early  fur  traders  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri country  was  usually  considered  to  be  the  region 
along  the  Missouri  River  from  the  mouth  of  the  Platte 
up  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  embracing  a  large  area 
of  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  This  definition 
is  practically  the  one  we  shall  follow;  for  although  the 
agricultural  tribes  occupied  only  the  immediate  valley 
of  the  Missouri,  and  of  the  lower  Platte,  yet  their  influ- 
ence was  felt  over  large  tracts  of  country  bordering  the 
river  valley.  The  Missouri,  with  its  tributaries,  was 
the  backbone  of  the  whole  region,  and  played  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  life  of  nearly  all  of  the  tribes,  even  the 
more  distant  tribes  in  the  Plains  making  occasional  jour- 
neys to  the  Indian  villages  on  the  Missouri,  to  barter 
and  visit. 

In  this  paper  we  shall  deal  with  the  agricultural  tribes 
of  the  Upper  Missouri  area,  and  the  hunter  tribes  will 
be  mentioned  only  incidentally. 

These  agricultural  tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  be- 
longed to  two  linguistic  stocks :  the  Caddoan  and  Siouan.1 

1  Two  Algonquian  tribes,  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoe8,  plant- 
ed in  the  Missouri  Valley  in  South  Dakota  for  many  yeara  in  the 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  35 

The  Caddoan  stock  was  represented  by  the  four  tribes 
of  Pawnees,  living  on  the  lower  Platte  in  Nebraska,  and 
by  the  Arikaras,  close  kindred  of  the  Pawnees,  who, 
when  first  visited  by  the  French  in  1743,  lived  in  several 
villages  on  the  Missouri  River,  near  the  present  Pierre, 
South  Dakota.  Like  the  Pawnees,  the  Arikaras  were  a 
numerous  people,  divided  into  several  tribes,  before  pes- 
tilence and  war  reduced  them  to  a  single  weak  village 
late  in  the  nineteenth  century.  These  Caddoan  peoples 
came  from  the  southwest  at  a  very  early  date,  and  their 
advent  into  the  Upper  Missouri  country  probably  ante- 
dates that  of  the  first  Siouan  arrivals.  The  Pawnees, 
and  evidently  the  Arikaras  also,  had  already  established 
themselves  in  northern  Kansas  and  southern  Nebraska 
when  Coronado  visited  the  tribes  on  Kansas  River 
(1541),  and  by  the  year  1723  the  Pawnees  had  moved 
up  to  the  Platte  Valley,  where  they  remained  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  while  the  Arikaras,  about  the 
same  time,  had  gone  on  up  the  Missouri  into  South  Da- 
kota,, where  they  soon  after  came  into  contact  with  the 
Mandans,  with  whom  they  are  still  living  today. 

The  Mandans  were  evidently  the  first  Siouan  tribe  to 
reach  the  Upper  Missouri.  They  seem  to  have  come 
from  the  east,  perhaps  from  the  Minnesota  region,  but 
all  knowledge  of  an  older  home,  outside  of  the  Missouri 
Valley,  has  been  lost.  Their  coming  dates  back  at  least 
three  hundred  years.  Their  earliest  traditions  say  that 

eighteenth  century,  but  they  soon  procured  horses,  abandoned 
their  fields,  and  took  to  following  the  buffalo.  Some  of  the  Chey- 
ennes  are  said  to  have  continued  to  plant  a  little  corn  each  year, 
well  on  into  the  nineteenth  century. 


36  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

they  first  reached  the  Missouri  at  the  mouth  of  White 
River,  in  South  Dakota,  whence  they  gradually  ascended 
the  Missouri  to  Heart  River,  where  they  lived  for  a  long 
time  and  perhaps  reached  the  height  of  their  prosper- 
ity, about  two  hundred  years  ago.  Here  the  Mandans 
were  joined  by  two  Siouan  tribes,  the  Hidatsas  and 
Crows.  But  little  can  be  even  surmised  as  to  the  route 
of  migration  of  these  peoples.  Their  traditions  say 
that  they  came  from  the  east,  from  the  region  of  Devil's 
Lake,  and  joined  the  Mandans  on  Heart  River  while 
that  tribe  was  still  prosperous  and  strong.  According 
to  their  stories  they  learned  all  that  they  knew  of  agri- 
culture from  the  Mandans  after  joining  that  tribe  on 
the  Missouri.  Matthews  says:  "The  Hidatsas  claim 
to  have  had  no  knowledge  of  corn  until  they  first  ate  it 
from  the  trenchers  of  the  Mandans.  .  . "  2  When 
they  reached  the  Missouri  the  Hidatsas  and  Crows  were 
one  nation,  but  after  living  on  Heart  River  for  some 
time  they  quarrelled  and  separated,  the  Hidatsas  re- 
maining with  the  Mandans,  while  the  Crows  moved  west- 
ward into  the  plains,  abandoning  agricultural  pursuits 
and  adopting  the  life  of  wandering  hunters.  They  did 
not  plant  corn  again  for  a  hundred  years.3 

The  Omahas  and  Ponkas  also  came  to  the  Upper  Mis- 

2  Ethnography  and  Philology  of  the  Hidatsa  Indians,  p.  11. 

a  Agent  Frost,  in  his  report  for  the  year  1878,  states  that  corn 
was  first  planted  that  year  among  the  Crows.  The  crop  was  put 
in  by  the  agency  employes,  but  a  number  of  Crows  helped  to  care 
for  the  corn  and  promised  to  plant  patches  of  their  own  the  fol- 
lowing year.  They  told  the  agent  that  long  ago  the  Crows  "had 
no  horses  and  raised  corn."  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  In- 
dian Affairs  for  the  year  1878,  p.  86. 


By  permission  of  the  Montana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

1.  RED  LAKE  CHIPPEWA     2.  MANDAN  WHITE  FLINT 

FLINT 
3.  LA  POINTE  CHIPPEWA      4.  FORT  TOTTEN  Sioux 

FLINT 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  39 

souri  from  the  east.  There  is  evidence  that  these  two 
Siouan  peoples  reached  the  Missouri  before  the  year 
1700,  but  perhaps  not  earlier  than  1675.  Their  arrival 
was  therefore  later  than  that  of  the  Mandans,  and  per- 
haps than  that  of  the  Hidatsas  and  Crows.  The  tradi- 
tions of  these  tribes  tell  of  their  migration  northward 
through  the  State  of  Iowa  to  the  vicinity  of  the  pipe- 
stone  quarry;  then  west  to  the  Big  Sioux  River,  where 
they  were  attacked  by  enemies  and  forced  to  remove  to 
the  Missouri  River,  in  South  Dakota.  They  next  moved 
up  the  Missouri,  crossing  to  the  west  bank  at  the  mouth 
of  White  River.  The  soil  here  was  poor,  and  after  re- 
maining for  a  short  time  the  tribes  moved  down  the  Mis- 
souri to  a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of  James  River.4 
They  lived  here  for  many  years,  then  moved  down  to  the 
Niobrara,  where  the  Omahas  planted  some  patches  of 
corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins.  At  this  time  the  Ponkas 
did  not  cultivate  the  ground;  they  were  a  hunter  tribe, 
procuring  some  corn  and  vegetables  from  the  Omahas  in 
barter  for  dried  meat.5  The  traditions  state  that  when 
they  reached  the  Niobrara  the  Ponkas  numbered  three 
thousand  people  and  encamped  in  three  large  concentric 
circles,  the  Omahas  in  two  circles.  The  Ponkas  remained 

*  This  is  the  Omaha  tradition,  as  given  by  Henry  Fontenelle 
in  1884,  in  Transactions  of  the  Nebraska  Historical  Society,  v.  i, 
p.  78.  Other  versions  do  not  mention  this  halt  opposite  James 
River. 

s  The  Ponkas  appear  to  have  taken  up,  and  then  abandoned, 
agriculture  several  times  in  early  days.  Thus  Merrill  was  in- 
formed by  some  traders  in  1834  that  the  Ponkas  had  formerly 
cultivated  the  soil  but  had  given  up  the  practice.  Transactions 
Nebraska  Historical  Society,  v.  v,  p.  170. 


40  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

on  the  Niobrara,  while  the  Omahas  moved  down  to  Bow 
Creek,  and  later  to  Omaha  Creek,  near  Homer,  Ne- 
braska, in  which  vicinity  they  still  reside  at  the  present 
day. 

Two  more  Siouan  tribes,  the  Otoes  and  lowas,  follow- 
ed the  Omahas  and  Ponkas  to  the  Missouri  in  the  year 
1700.  Crossing  to  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  the  lowas 
built  a  village  on  Iowa  Creek,  between  the  Niobrara  and 
Omaha  Creek.6  They  later  moved  farther  south  and  built 
a  village  near  the  present  city  of  Omaha.  The  lowas 
did  not  remain  long  in  Nebraska,  but  moved  eastward 
into  the  state  that  now  bears  their  name,  where  they  re- 
mained for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  In  late  years 
they  crossed  the  Missouri  again  and  were  established  on 
a  reservation  in  northeastern  Kansas. 

The  Otoes  after  crossing  the  Missouri  about  the  year 
1700  are  said  to  have  gone  down  to  the  Platte  at  once, 
where  they  built  a  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elkhorn.7 
They  remained  on  the  lower  Platte,  building  many  vil- 
lages, until  after  1840.  In  1778  the  Otoes  were  joined 
by  the  remnant  of  a  kindred  tribe,  the  Missouris,  who 
had  long  dwelt  on  the  lower  Missouri,  near  the  mouth 
of  Grand  River.  These  people,  although  few  in  num- 

8  This  is  the  Omaha  tradition,  given  by  Henry  Fontenelle, 
1884,  in  Transactions  Nebraska  Historical  Society,  v.  i,  p.  78. 
The  lowas  are  said  to  have  built  two  or  three  villages  on  the 
Missouri  between  the  Niobrara  and  the  Platte  at  this  period. 
Bourgmont  mentions  them  in  connection  with  the  Otoes  in  1724, 
but  does  not  locate  their  village.  (Margry,  v.  vi,  pp.  396  and 
410). 

7  This  is  Henry  Fontenelle 'a  version,  given  in  1884,  in  Tram- 
actions  Nebraska  Historical  Society,  v.  i,  p.  78. 


"a     P 


I    I    t    i    rl    I    I 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  43 

ber,  maintained  a  separate  village  for  themselves  near 
that  of  the  Otoes  until  after  the  year  1850,  and  accom- 
panied the  Otoes  on  their  removal  to  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory in  1882.  This  once  powerful  tribe  numbered  but 
forty  persons  in  1885. 

The  Cheyennes,  an  Algonquian  tribe,  migrated  from 
the  far  north  at  a  very  early  date  and  came  down  to  the 
headwaters  of  Minnesota  River,  where  they  learned  to 
cultivate  the  soil  and  built  a  village  near  Lac-qui-parle. 
They  later  removed  to  the  western  branch  of  the  Red 
River  of  the  North  which  still  bears  their  name,8  where 
they  built  another  village  and  cultivated  the  soil  until, 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  they  were  attacked  by 
enemies  armed  with  guns,  who  forced  them  to  remove 
to  the  Missouri,  apparently  about  the  year  1740.9  They 
crossed  the  Missouri,  seemingly  above  the  Arikara  vil- 
lages and  below  those  of  the  Mandans,  and  built  an 
earth-lodge  village  of  their  own  above  Standing  Rock 
and  just  below  the  mouth  of  Porcupine  Creek,10  and 

s  Thia  stream  is  still  known  as  the  Sheyenne  River.  The  old 
Sioux  name  for  this  river  was  Shaien  wojubi  ("place  where  the 
Cheyennes  plant"). 

9  Alexander  Henry,  perhaps  our  best  authority  on  this  point, 
states  that  the  Cheyennes  were  driven  from  the  Bed  Eiver  region 
about  1735.     They  do  not  appear  to  have  gone  direct  to  the  Mis- 
souri, as  the  Mandans  told  the  elder  Verendrye  in  1739  that  the 
next  tribe  below  them  on  the  river  was  called  Panana  (Arikara). 
But  the  younger  Verendrye  appears  to  have  met  the  Cheyennes, 
above  the  Arikaras  and  below  the  Mandans,  in   1743,   although 
he  speaks  of  them  as  Sioux  —  an  error  also  made  by  Carver  many 
years  later. 

10  The  ruins  of  this  village  were  still  to  be  seen  some  years 
ago,  but  the  whole  site  has  now  fallen  into  the  river. 


44  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

here  again  they  planted  their  corn  patches.  The  Chey- 
ennes  now  procured  horses  from  the  hunter  tribes  in  the 
plains  to  the  west,  and  after  a  time  they  abandoned 
their  earth-lodges  and  gradually  moved  out  into  the 
plains,  toward  the  Black  Hills,  where  game  of  all  kinds 
was  very  abundant.  They  were  now  a  hunter  tribe, 
living  in  skin  tepees,  but  for  nearly  a  century  they 
continued  to  plant  some  corn  here  and  there  in  small 
patches.11 

The  Arapahoes,  another  Algonquian  people,  state  that 
they  met  the  Cheyennes  in  the  plains,  north  of  the 
Missouri,  and  moved  with  them  across  the  Missouri. 
The  Cheyennes  deny  this  story.  The  Arapahoes  also 
claim  that  they  planted  corn  while  living  north  of  the 
Missouri,  but  that  some  time  after  they  had  crossed  that 
river  the  Arikaras  "stole"  their  corn.12  They  then 
moved  out  toward  the  Black  Hills,  took  to  hunting  the 
buffalo,  and  soon  secured  horses. 

The  Sioux  or  Dakota  reached  the  Missouri  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  from  the  Minnesota 

11  Perrin  du  Lae  states  that  the  Cheyennes  still  planted  some 
corn  and  tobacco  in   1802.     Elk  Eiver  informed  Mr.   Geo.  Bird 
Grinnell  that  the  Cheyennes  built  two  earth-lodge  villages.     The 
first  one  was  "above  the  Standing  Bock."     From  here  part  of 
the  tribe  moved  out  toward  the  Black  Hills  to  hunt;   the  rest 
moved   down   and  built  a  village  near   the  mouth   of   Cheyenne 
River.     Elk  Elver's  mother,  born  1786,  pointed  out  the  site  of 
this   village   in    1877   and    stated   the   Cheyennes   still   lived   and 
planted  there  when  she  was  a  girl. 

12  This  is  the  statement  made  by  Little  Raven  to  Lieutenant 
Clark  in  1881.     The  evidence,  however,  all  points  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  Arapahoes  gave  up  agriculture  at  a  much  earlier 
period  than  did  the  Cheyennes. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  45 

region,  where  they  had  lived  when  the  first  white  men 
met  them.  They  were  a  numerous  and  fierce  race  of 
hunters  and  warriors,  the  terror  of  all  their  neighbors 
and  the  oppressors  of  all  the  weaker  tribes.  From  the 
viewpoint  of  the  agricultural  tribes  they  were  to  be 
classed  with  the  smallpox,  the  drought,  and  the  grass-- 
hopper, as  one  of  the  great  plagues  of  existence.  Some 
bands  of  the  Sioux  practiced  agriculture  in  a  desultory 
way  at  times;  but  for  the  most  part  the  western  bands 
depended  for  their  food  on  the  hunt  and  the  theft  or 
purchase  of  a  little  corn  from  their  neighbors. 

Of  the  other  hunting  tribes  in  the  Upper  Missouri 
area  little  need  be  said  at  this  point.  To  the  northeast 
and  north  of  the  Missouri  were  the  Assiniboin,  certain 
bands  of  Chippewas  and  Plains  Crees,  and  the  three 
tribes  of  Blackfeet.  South  and  west  of  the  river  were 
the  Crows,  Cheyennes,  and  Arapahoes,  and,  in  earlier 
times,  the  Kiowas,  Prairie-Apaches,  and  Comanchejs. 
The  Atsinas,  kinsmen  of  the  Arapahoes,  sometimes  roved 
north  of  the  Missouri  and  sometimes  south  of  it. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteen  century  the  seden- 
tary tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  were  all  numerous 
and  strong  peoples.  Renaudiere,  who  is  one  of '  our 
best  early  authorities,  states  that  the  Pawnees  in  1723 
had  one  village  of  150  lodges  on  the  Platte  below  the 
Elkhorn  and  eight  more  villages  on  the  Elkhorn.13  A 
Frenchman  who  had  been  trading  on  the  Missouri  for 
many  years  informed  Colonel  Bouquet  in  1763  that  the 
Pawnees  then  had  2,000  fighting  men,  which  would  in- 

!3  Eenaudiere's  report,  August  23,  1723,  in  Margry,  v.  vi,  p. 
392. 


46  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

dicate  a  total  population  of  about  10,000.14  As  late  as 
1820  this  tribe  had  four  strong  villages.  In  1872,  be- 
fore the  final  blows  fell  upon  them,  the  Pawnee  census 
was  as  follows:  Chaui  tribe:  men  140,  women  254, 
children  365,  total  759.  Kitkehahki  tribe:  men  124, 
women  208,  children  218,  total  550.  Skidi  tribe:  men 
154,  women  232,  children  244,  total  630.  Pitahauerat 
tribe :  men  91,  women  182,  children  235,  total  508.  All 
Pawnees:  men  509,  women  876,  children  1,062,  total 
2,447.15  In  1906  the  Pawnees  numbered  649. 

All  of  our  early  informants  agree  in  stating  that  the 
Arikaras,  like  the  Pawnees,  were  formerly  a  numerous 
people.  Trudeau  (1796)  found  the  Arikaras  living  in 
two  villages,  but  he  lays  emphasis  on  the  fact  that  the 
population  of  these  villages  was  made  up  of  the  rem- 
nants of  many  tribes  or  bands,  formerly  independent.16 
"In  ancient  times  the  Ricara  nation  was  very  large;  it 
counted  thirty-two  populous  villages,  now  depopulated 
and  almost  destroyed  by  the  smallpox  which  broke  out 
among  them  three  different  times.  A  few  families  only, 
from  each  of  the  villages,  escaped;  these  united  and 
formed  the  two  villages  now  here  .  .  .  upon  the 
same  land  occupied  by  their  ancestors.  .  .  This  na- 

!*  If  anything,  this  estimate  is  too  small.  The  trader  had  per- 
haps seen  only  the  Pawnee  villages  on  the  lower  Platte.  As  late 
aa  1838  the  Pawnees  still  had  about  10,000  people,  and  even 
after  the  great  cholera  attack  of  1849  they  had  4,500. 

15  Eeport  of  the  Pawnee  agent,  1872.  This  is  the  only  de- 
tailed census  of  the  Pawnees  ever  made,  as  far  as  known. 

"  Several  dialects  were  spoken  among  the  Arikaras,  and  there 
were  other  evidences  that  the  people  had  formerly  been  divided 
into  separate  tribes. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  47 

tion  formerly  so  numerous,  and  which,  according  to 
their  reports,  could  turn  out  four  thousand  warriors,  is 
now  reduced  to  about  five  hundred  fighting  men,  as  I 
have  said,  and  what  is  more  the  lack  of  harmony  which 
exists  among  the  Chiefs  has  caused  the  nation  to  be 
divided  into  four  parts."17 

Lewis  and  Clark  in  1804  found  the  Arikaras  living  in 
three  villages  at  the  mouth  of  Grand  River,  South  Da- 
kota. They  state  that  these  people  are  the  remnant  of 
ten  powerful  tribes,  and  the  population  in  1804  is  given 
as  600  warriors,  2,600  people.  In  1859  the  tribe  had 
only  109  lodges  left.18  In  1904  the  Arikaras  numbered 
380. 

"We  have  similar  evidence  as  to  the  early  strength  of 
the  Mandan  tribe.  Verendrye  (1738)  informs  us  that 
there  were  five  large  villages  on  the  bank  of  the  Mis- 
souri and  one  smaller  one  away  from  the  river  on  the 
(east  bank.  Other  early  informants  state  that  there 
were  nine  villages.  Thus  Lewis  and  Clark  were  told  in 
1804  that  "Within  the  recollection  of  living  witnesses, 
the  Mandans  were  settled  ...  in  nine  villages 
.  .  .  about  eighty  miles  below  (that  is,  near  Heart 
River)  .  .  .  seven  on  the  west  and  two  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Missouri.  The  two  .  .  .  wasting  before 
the  smallpox  and  the  Sioux  united  into  one  village  and 

"  Journal  of  Jean  Baptiste  Trudeau  among  the  Ankara  In- 
dians in  1796,  in  Missouri  Historical  Society  Collections,  v.  iv, 
no.  4,  p.  28. 

is  Statement  of  Wm.  G.  Hollins  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
in  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1859,  p. 
120:  "Bees,  109  lodges;  Mandans,  33  lodges;  Gros  Ventres,  94 
lodges. ' ' 


48  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

moved  up  the  river  opposite  to  the  Ricaras.  The  same 
causes  reduced  the  seven  to  five. ' ' 19 

In  1804  Lewis  and  Clark  found  the  Mandans  in  two 
villages  at  the  mouth  of  Knife  River,  North  Dakota,  and 
estimated  their  population  at  1,250.  In  1837  their  num- 
ber was  given  as  1,600,  but  in  that  year  they  were  at- 
tacked by  the  smallpox  again,  and  only  150  survived.20 
In  1859  there  were  thirty-three  lodges  of  Mandans,  ac- 
cording to  Wm.  G.  Hollins.  By  1871  the  Mandans  had 
increased  to  about  450,  but  they  then  began  to  decrease 
again,  and  in  1905  there  were  only  249  left,  but  a  hand- 
ful of  whom  were  of  pure  Mandan  descent. 

The  early  strength  of  these  Upper  Missouri  village- 
tribes  was  broken  by  repeated  attacks  of  the  smallpox, 
after  which  they  were  still  farther  reduced  by  the  con- 
stant harrying  of  the  Sioux,  Assiniboin,  and  other  en- 
emies. Trudeau  states  that  the  Arikara  had  suffered 
from  smallpox  on  three  occasions  prior  to  1795,  and 
Lewis  and  Clark  give  similar  evidence  in  regard  to  the 
Mandans.  The  first  visitation  of  the  smallpox  of  which 
we  have  any  record  was  the  great  epidemic  of  1780 
which  worked  havoc  in  the  Upper  Missouri  villages  and 
then  spread  among  the  tribes  of  western  Canada  where, 
according  to  the  estimates  of  the  fur  traders,  one-third 
of  the  Indian  population  died  of  the  disease. 

There  were  no  Sioux  living  near  the  Upper  Missouri 
as  late  as  1743,  but  they  appear  to  have  reached  the 

i»  Original  Journals  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  v.  i,  entry  of  Oct.  22, 
1804. 

20  The  number  of  Mandans  who  survived  this  terrible  epidemic 
is  variously  given  as  31,  125,  145,  the  latter  figure  evidently  the 
most  reliable  one. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  49 

Missouri  River  in  considerable  numbers  some  time  be- 
tween the  years  1750  and  1770.  About  1775  an  Oglala 
Sioux  named  Standing  Bull  visited  the  Black  Hills ;  but 
this  was  only  an  incidental  journey,  and  we  have  suffi- 
cient evidence  that  the  Sioux  did  not  cross  the  Missouri, 
to  hunt  and  live,  in  any  force  until  about  the  year  1800. 

The  Cheyennes  state  that  the  first  Sioux  who  visited 
them  in  the  Black  Hills  region  were  poor  people.  They 
came  out  first  (about  1760)  in  small  parties  and  family 
groups,  to  beg  meat  and  horses  from  the  Cheyennes; 
but  they  soon  came  in  larger  bands  and  about  1785  be- 
gan attacking  the  Black  Hills  tribes.  Some  thirty  years 
later,  having  in  the  meantime  driven  out  all  of  these 
tribes,  with  the  exception  of  the  Cheyennes,  they  occu- 
pied the  Black  Hills  country  and  claimed  it  as  their  own. 

We  have  accounts  of  the  Sioux  methods  of  harrassing 
the  agricultural  tribes,  written  by  Perrin  du  Lac  in 
1802,  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  many  other  early  travelers. 
A  typical  example  of  a  "friendly"  visit  by  the  Sioux 
to  one  of  these  Indian  villages  occurred  in  the  fall  of 
1853.  A  large  camp  of  about  2,500  Sioux  came  to  the 
Arikara  village  to  trade  meat  and  robes  for  corn,  beans, 
and  dried  pumpkins.  Having  finished  trading,  the 
Sioux  stole  everything  they  could  lay  their  hands  on 
and  then  set  out  for  their  hunting-grounds,  firing  the 
prairies  as  they  went  on  all  sides  of  the  Arikara  village 
—  "an  act  of  dastardly  malignancy,  as  it  deprived  the 
Arickarees  of  the  means  of  support  for  their  horses 
.  .  ."  and  also  prevented  any  game  from  coming 
near  the  village.21  Some  of  the  Sioux  bands  were  us- 


21  Pacific  Railroad  Surveys,  v.  i,  p.  265. 


50  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ually  on  this  sort  of  "friendly"  terms  with  the  village 
Indians.  The  rest  of  the  Sioux  were  openly  hostile,  and 
for  a  hundred  years,  from  1775  to  1875,  the  sedentary 
tribes,  from  the  Pawnees  and  Otoes  in  the  south  to  the 
Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  in  the  north,  were 
constantly  under  the  pressure  of  Sioux  hostility.  The 
Assiniboins  and  other  tribes  occasionally  attacked  the 
villagers;  but  the  Sioux  danger  was  ever-present. 

2.     The  earths-lodge  village 

The  agricultural  tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  were 
also  the  only  persistently  sedentary,  village-dwelling 
peoples  of  the  region.  The  permanent  villages  of  these 
tribes,  except  for  minor  differences,  were  very  much 
alike.  In  early  times  they  were  usually  located  on  some 
point  of  the  higher  benches  or  bluffs  along  the  river, 
whence  a  clear  view  might  be  had  in  all  directions,  and 
where  suitable  soil  was  to  be  found  in  the  bottom  land 
at  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  on  the  wide  bench  in  rear  of  the 
village,  or  in  the  bends  of  nearby  creek  valleys.  Among 
the  Pawnees,  Otoes,  and  Omahas  little  appears  to  have 
been  provided  by  way  of  defensive  works,  at  least  in 
later  days ; **  but  farther  north  on  the  Missouri  the 
villages  were  always  surrounded  by  heavy  palisades  of 
large  logs  and  earth,  when  built  on  the  lower  bench,  and 
when  built  on  the  bluffs  one  or  more  sides  of  the  village 
were  protected  by  the  steeply  scarped  edges  of  the  bluff 
and  only  the  sides  open  to  attack  were  surrounded  by 

22  Omaha  tradition  states  that  they  and  the  Ponkas  lived  in  a 
strong  "fort"  on  the  Big  Sioux  Eiver  before  they  removed  to 
the  Missouri. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  51 

palisades  and  earthworks.  Either  inside  or  outside  the 
palisade  was  a  ditch,  the  location  of  which  varied  in  the 
different  villages,  if  we  are  to  believe  our  early  in- 
formants. The  villages  seem  to  have  been  much  more 
strongly  fortified  in  early  times  than  they  were  after 
the  Indians  procured  firearms.  Verendrye,  who  visited 
the  Mandans  in  1738,  draws  a  very  imposing  picture 
of  the  strong  wall  about  their  "fort,"  with  the  ditch 
outside  some  twenty  feet  across  and  fifteen  feet  deep. 
He  states  that  access  was  possible  only  by  means  of  a 
bridge  across  the  ditch  and  that  there  were  strong  bas- 
tions and  earth  ramparts  along  the  walls.  An  examin- 
ation of  some  of  the  earlier  Mandan  village  sites  seems 
to  corroborate,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent,  Verendrye 's 
account  of  earthwork  fortification;  while  farther  south 
in  the  old  Pawnee  country  along  the  lower  Platte,  we 
have  clear  evidence  that  the  villages  of  the  later  stone 
age  were  much  more  strongly  defended  than  those  of  a 
later  time.23 

Trudeau  (1796)  gives  the  following  description  of  the 
Arikara  fortifications:  "The  Ricaras  have  fortified 
their  village  by  placing  palisades  five  feet  high  which 
they  have  reinforced  with  earth.  The  fort  is  construct- 
ed in  the  following  manner:  All  around  their  village 
they  drive  into  the  ground  heavy  forked  stakes,  standing 
from  four  to  five  feet  high  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  apart.  Upon  these  are  placed  cross-pieces  as  thick 

23  The  various  reports  of  the  Nebraska  State  Archaeologist 
show  that  most  of  the  stone  age  village  sites  in  this  state  were 
either  located  on  high  ground  in  very  strong  defensive  positions 
or  were  surrounded  by  earthworks  and  ditches,  the  remains  of 
which  are  often  still  clearly  visible. 


52  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

as  one 's  thigh ;  next  they  place  poles  of  willow  or  cotton- 
wood,  as  thick  as  one's  leg,  resting  on  the  cross-pieces 
and  very  close  together.  Against  these  poles  which  are 
five  feet  high  they  pile  fascines  of  brush  which  they 
cover  with  an  embankment  of  earth  two  feet  thick;  in 
this  way,  the  heighth  of  the  poles  would  prevent  the 
scaling  of  the  fort  by  the  enemy,  while  the  well-packed 
earth  protects  those  within  from  their  balls  and  ar- 
rows. ' ' 24 

Let  us  view  then  a  typical  earth-lodge  village,  situated 
on  a  high  bench  of  the  Missouri ;  in  the  rear  a  level  plain 
leading  back  to  the  hills  two  or  three  miles  away;  in 
front  the  river,  washing  the  bank  below  the  village. 
On  the  plain  close  to  the  village,  if  it  be  Mandan  or 
Hidatsa,  stand  a  number  of  fantastic  scaffolds  on  which 
the  dead,  wrapped  in  cloths  or  fine  robes,  are  deposited. 
Near  the  cemetery  also  are  to  be  seen  several  shrines 
consisting  of  tall  poles  carrying  effigies  of  some  sort  and 
surrounded  by  a  circle  of  human  skulls.  On  another 
side,  close  to  the  village  wall,  is  the  smooth  and  hard 
beaten  course  for  their  "billiard"  game,  as  the  French 
called  it.  Off  toward  the  hills  are  many  horses,  under 
the  watchful  eyes  of  some  of  the  youths  who  act  as  herd- 
ers. Near  the  village  in  several  directions  the  plain 
seems  to  be  one  large  corn  field,  though  in  reality  broken 
up  into  many  small  patches.  Let  us  refer  to  Henry's 
account  of  his  visit  to  the  Mandans  and  Hidatsas,  in 
which  he  describes  the  country  from  the  Amahami 25 

2*  Trudeau,  Missouri  Historical  Society  Collections,  v.  iv,  no.  1, 
p.  23. 

25  Amahami :   a  small  Siouan  tribe  very  closely  related  in  Ian- 


53 


village  to  the  lower  Hidatsa  town :  ' '  We  proceeded  on 
a  delightful  hard,  dry  road.  The  soil  being  a  mixture 
of  sand  and  clay  and  rain  being  infrequent,  the  heat  of 
the  sun  makes  the  road  as  hard  as  pavement.  Upon 
each  side  were  pleasant  cultivated  spots,  some  of  which 
stretched  up  the  rising  ground  on  our  left,  whilst  on 
our  right  they  ran  nearly  to  the  Missouri  River.  In 
these  fields  were  many  women  and  children  at  work,  who 
all  appeared  industrious.  Upon  the  road  were  passing 
and  repassing  every  moment  natives,  afoot  and  on  horse- 
back, curious  to  examine  and  stare  at  us.  Many  horses 
were  feeding  in  every  direction  beyond  the  plantation. 
The  whole  view  was  agreeable  and  had  more  the  appear- 
ance of  a  country  inhabited  by  a  civilized  nation  than 
by  a  set  of  savages. ' ' 20 

Now  let  us  approach  the  village  itself.  From  a  dis- 
tance some  of  the  early  travelers  have  likened  it  to  a 
cluster  of  mole  hills.  As  we  approach  however  the  mole 
hills  become  larger,  we  pass  through  the  gate  in  the 
palisade  and  find  ourselves  among  these  great,  earth- 
covered  dwellings.  The  lodges  are  crowded  in  without 
apparent  order,  leaving  frequently  hardly  room  to  pass 
between.  The  ground  is  packed  hard  from  the  beat  of 
many  feet,  and  is  mostly  clear  and  clean,  as  the  village, 
as  well  as  the  lodges,  is  swept  out  at  short  intervals. 
Before  each  lodge  is  an  open  space  sufficiently  large  to 
accommodate  the  two-story  scaffold  upon  which  meat 

guage  to  the  Hidatsas.  They  maintained  a  separate  village  of 
their  own  near  the  Hidatsa  and  Mandan  villages  down  to  the 
time  of  the  great  smallpox  epidemic  of  1837. 

26  Journal  of  Alexander  Henry,  Coues  edition,  p.  344. 


54  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

and  corn  are  dried  and  firewood  piled  in  summer.  In 
this  season  too  we  must  watch  where  we  go,  as  many 
of  the  storage  caches  which  are  scattered  promiscuously 
throughout  the  village  are  empty  and  open  pitfalls  for 
the  feet  of  the  unwary.  Henry  says:  "So  numerous 
about  the  village  are  these  pits  that  it  is  really  danger- 
ous for  a  stranger  to  stir  out  after  dark. ' ' 27 

Near  the  center  of  the  village  is  an  open  space  some 
200  to  400  feet  across,  where  the  dances  and  various 
ceremonies  are  held.  In  the  Arikara  village  there  will 
be  one  lodge  in  this  open  space,  larger  than  most  of  the 
others,  and  with  a  cedar  post  and  a  large  stone  before  it. 
This  is  the  holy  house  or  medicine  lodge.  In  the  Man- 
dan  village  there  will  be  no  lodge  in  the  open  area;  in 
the  center  however  will  be  a  round  enclosure  of  cedar 
planks,  and  this  is  the  "Minaki" —  the  center  of  all 
their  religious  ceremonies.  The  doors  of  the  lodges  sur- 
rounding this  open  space  in  the  Mandan  village  all  face 
inward  toward  the  Minaki,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that 
one  of  these  lodges  has  a  queer,  flattened  front,  and 
before  it  stand  two  high  poles  to  the  tops  of  which  are 
fastened  grotesque  effigies  of  some  of  their  gods.  This 
is  the  Mandan  sacred  lodge.  In  the  Hidatsa  village  is 
no  open  space  at  all,  the  houses  being  crowded  in  hap- 
hazard throughout  the  whole  area. 

Having  examined  the  general  appearance  of  the  vil- 
lage, let  us  next  look  closer  at  the  individual  lodges. 
They  are  all  circular  in  form  with  dome  shaped  roofs 
and  covered  entrance  ways  six  to  fourteen  feet  long  be- 
fore the  doors.  The  average  house  will  be  perhaps  thir- 

27  Henry,  p.  360. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  55 

ty  to  forty  feet  across  and  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high, 
though  many  will  be  twice  that  size  and  a  few  even 
larger.  Lodges  ninety  and  even  one  hundred  feet  in 
diameter  have  been  mentioned.  Both  the  lodge  and  the 
passage  way  are  thatched  and  the  thatch  is  covered  to  a 
considerable  depth  with  closely  packed  earth.  The  roof 
is  then  finished  either  by  being  smoothly  plastered  with 
clay  or  covered  with  sods  cut  and  laid  like  shingles. 
In  the  latter  case  "the  grass  of  the  sod  continued  to 
grow,  and  wild  flowers  brightened  the  walls  and  roof 
of  the  dwelling.  The  blackened  circle  around  the  cen- 
tral opening  in  the  roof,  produced  by  the  heat  and 
smoke,  was  the  only  suggestion  that  the  verdant  mound 
was  a  human  abode. ' ' 28 

At  the  top  of  the  dome  shaped  roof  is  an  opening  two 
or  three  feet  across,  to  permit  the  escape  of  the  smoke 
and  light  the  interior  of  the  lodge.  On  the  roof  beside 
this  opening  is  laid  an  old  bull-boat  or  a  covered  wicker 
frame,  to  be  placed  over  the  smoke  hole  in  bad  weather. 
A  rude  ladder,  usually  chopped  out  of  a  log,  leans 
against  the  house,  giving  easy  access  to  the  roof,  which 
is  often  surrounded  by  a  wooden  railing.  On  the  roof 
are  scattered  various  household  articles  and  probably 
one  or  more  old  buffalo  skulls;  and  here  often  groups 
of  men  collect,  sitting  or  reclining  on  the  sloping  roof, 
to  chat  and  overlook  the  village.  When  there  was  no 
great  hunt  afoot  or  no  warlike  demonstration  requiring 
their  attention,  Henry  says:  "The  young  men  .  .  . 
pass  the  day  on  the  tops  of  the  huts,  sleeping  in  the  sun 
or  strolling  from  hut  to  hut,  eating  corn  and  smoking 

28  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  410. 


56  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Missouri  tobacco."  29  Here  on  the  roofs  the  whole  pop- 
ulation congregated  at  times,  to  watch  the  return  of  a 
war  party  or  observe  the  approach  of  a  body  of  strangers. 
When  we  enter  one  of  these  lodges  and  our  eyes  be- 
come accustomed  to  the  dim  light,  we  notice  that  the 
floor  of  the  lodge  is  a  foot  or  more  below  the  level  of 
the  ground  outside.30  In  the  center  of  the  floor,  under 
the  smoke  hole,  is  a  shallow  depression  some  five  or  six 
feet  across  and  curbed  with  stone.  This  is  the  fireplace, 
and  about  it  are  set  earthen  pots  of  various  sizes,  wooden 
bowls,  horn  spoons  and  other  articles  of  a  culinary  na- 
ture. A  portion  of  the  lodge  near  the  door  is  divided 
off  either  by  a  curtain  of  skins  or  a  plank  wall ;  behind 
this  firewood  is  piled  and  it  serves  also  to  prevent  the 
clraft  from  the  door  reaching  those  seated  about  the  fire. 
Another  space  is  sometimes  partitioned  off  for  the  use 
of  the  horses.  Maximilian  says:  "Inside  the  winter 
huts  is  a  particular  compartment  where  the  horses  are 
put  in  the  evening  and  fed  with  maize. ' ' 31  Between 
the  windbreak  near  the  door  and  the  fire  is  the  master's 
seat  —  a  willoAv  mat  arranged  with  an  elevated  back, 
resembling  a  divan.  Around  the  wall  are  the  beds, 
divided  off  from  the  rest  of  the  lodge  by  curtains  of 
skins  or  reed  mats.  Each  bed  is  a  separate,  box-like 
structure,  entirely  closed  in  except  for  one  small  open- 
ing; the  bed  is  raised  somewhat  above  the  floor  and  is 
filled  with  robes. 

2»  Henry,  p.  327. 

so  Some  of  the  tribes,  unlike  the  Mandans,  did  not  excavate 
the  floor  of  the  lodge,  but  left  it  on  the  same  level  as  the  ground 
outside. 

31  Maximilian's  Travels,  p.  272. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  57 

* 

The  back  part  of  the  lodge,  opposite  the  entrance,  is 
the  guests'  corner;  here  also  sacred  objects  are  kept  — 
the  master's  medicine-bag,  his  war  paraphernalia,  arms 
and  shield,  and  often  a  painted  buffalo  skull.  Between 
this  corner  and  the  fire  a  large  wooden  mortar  is  fixed 
firmly  in  the  ground,  and  in  the  mortar  or  beside  it  rests 
a  heavy  pestle,  also  made  of  wood.  Le  Raye  tells  us 
that  at  the  time  of  his  visit  to  the  Mandans  (1801-1802) 
the  walls  of  the  lodges  were  elaborately  hung  with  vari- 
ous kinds  of  beautiful  furs,  all  well  dressed.  Maize  and 
dried  meat  were  often  piled  up  here  and  there  on  the 
floor,  while  many  articles  of  household  use  were  hung 
upon  the  large  center  posts.  From  these  four  posts  also, 
among  some  of  the  tribes,  "the  shields  and  weapons  of 
the  men  were  suspended  .  .  .  giving  color  to  the 
interior  of  the  dwelling,  which  was  always  picturesque, 
whether  seen  at  night,  when  the  fire  leaped  up  and 
glinted  on  the  polished  blackened  roof,  and  when  at  times 
the  lodge  was  filled  with  men  and  women  in  their  gala 
dress  at  some  social  meeting  or  religious  ceremony,  or 
during  the  day  when  the  shaft  of  sunlight  fell  through 
the  central  opening  over  the  fireplace,  bringing  into  re- 
lief some  bit  of  aboriginal  life  and  leaving  the  rest  of  the 
lodge  in  deep  shadow. ' ' 32 

Among  many  of  the  tribes  "ceremonies  attended  the 
erection  of  the  earth-lodge  from  the  marking  of  the  cir- 
cle to  the  putting  on  of  the  sods.  Both  men  and 
women  took  part  in  these  rites  and  shared  in  the  labor 
of  building.  To  cut,  haul,  and  set  the  heavy  posts  and 
beams  was  the  men's  task;  the  binding,  thatching,  and 

32  Bulletin  SO,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  411. 


58  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

sodding  that  of  the  women.  .  .  Few,  if  any,  large 
and  well-built  earth-lodges  exist  at  the  present  day. 
Even  with  care  a  lodge  could  be  made  to  last  only  a 
generation  or  two. ' ' 33 

The  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  usually  aban- 
doned their  permanent  villages  during  three  or  four 
months  in  the  winter  and  built  similar  earth-lodge  vil- 
lages 34  in  the  timber,  along  the  Missouri  River  bottoms, 
where  there  was  more  shelter  and  fuel  was  plentiful,  but 
as  soon  as  the  weather  became  more  favorable  for  the 
movement  of  hostile  war  parties,  or  a  thaw  presaged  the 
break-up  of  the  ice  in  the  river  with  possible  floods,  the 
people  at  once  returned  to  their  permanent  quarters. 
Farther  south,  in  Nebraska,  the  Ponkas,  Omahas,  Paw- 
nees, and  Otoes  spent  much  less  time  in  their  permanent 
villages,  not  being  as  closely  pressed  by  the  Sioux  or  oth- 
er enemies  as  were  the  tribes  higher  up  the  Missouri. 
Indeed,  these  tribes  in  Nebraska  followed  the  buffalo  for 
a  great  part  of  the  year,  living  in  skin  tepees,  returning 
to  their  earth-lodge  villages  only  for  a  brief  period  at 
planting-time  and  harvest. 

The  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  on  returning  to 
their  villages  in  early  spring  occupied  themselves  before 
it  was  time  to  plant  the  fields  in  dressing  the  pelts  they 
had  obtained  during  the  winter  and  in  laying  up  a  sup- 
ply of  firewood  for  the  summer.  "When  the  ice  broke 
up  in  the  spring  the  Indians  leaped  on  the  cakes,  at- 

33  Bulletin  SO,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  411. 

84  These  winter  camps  consisted  of  small,  rude  earth-lodges, 
requiring  only  a  short  time  to  build.  The  people  seem  to  have 
camped  in  small  bands  in  winter,  in  sheltered  and  timbered  bot- 
toms. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  59 

tached  cords  to  the  trees  that  were  whirling  down  the 
rapid  current,  and  hauled  them  ashore.  Men,  women, 
and  the  older  children,  engaged  in  this  exciting  work, 
and  although  they  sometimes  fell  and  were  swept  down- 
stream, their  dexterity  and  courage  generally  prevented 
serious  accidents. ' ' 35 

3.     Agriculture 

The  village  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  like  most 
of  the  other  sedentary  tribes  within  the  present  limits 
of  the  United  States,  in  early  days  depended  only  par- 
tially on  agriculture  as  a  means  of  subsistence,  gaining 
at  least  fifty  per  cent  of  their  food  supply  from  the 
hunt.  Some  of  the  tribes  like  the  Kitkehahki  Pawnees 
and  Ponkas,  although  living  in  fixed  villages  a  part  of 
each  year,  subsisted  almost  wholly  on  the  hunt.  Pike, 
writing  in  1806,  tells  us  that  the  Kitkehahki  wrere  ''in 
point  of  cultivation  .  .~  .  about  equal  to  the  Osages, 
raising  a  sufficiency  of  corn  and  pumpkins  to  afford  a  lit- 
tle thickening  to  their  soup  during  the  year. ' ' 36  We  have 
similar  statements  from  other  travelers  with  reference 
to  the  Osages,  Kansa,  Otoes,  and  Ponkas.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  stated  that  the  Pawnees  (particularly  the 
Skidi),  the  Arikaras,  and  Mandans  in  early  times  cul- 
tivated the  soil  extensively  and  usually  had  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  corn  and  vegetables  en  cache  during  the 

35  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  85. 

36  Pike,  Coues  edition,  v.  ii,  p.  533.     This  passage  appears  to 
be  the  source  of  Gallatin's  statement  that  the  Pawnees  did  not 
raise  enough  corn  "to  whiten  their  broth,"  an  assertion  to  which 
Dunbar  took  strong  exception.     Pike's  view  was  certainly  correct 
at  the  time,  as  far  as  the  Kitkehahki  tribe  was  concerned. 


60  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

greater  part  of  the  year.  Dunbar  informs  us  that  the 
Pawnees,  although  they  usually  had  a  large  quantity  on 
hand,  never  traded  or  sold  their  corn.  On  the  Upper 
Missouri  the  trade  in  corn  and  vegetables  was  almost 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Mandans  and  Arikaras  who, 
from  the  earliest  times,  had  carried  on  an  extensive 
trade  in  these  articles  with  the  hunter  tribes  of  the 
Plains.  In  later  times  they  supplied  the  white  fur  trad- 
ers with  large  quantities  of  corn.  The  Omahas  appear 
to  have  carried  on  a  small  trade  in  corn  with  the  fur 
traders  at  certain  periods  in  their  history.37 

Most  of  the  early  explorers  and  travelers  who  journey- 
ed through  the  Upper  Missouri  country  during  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  have  mentioned  in 
passing  the  agriculture  of  the  tribes  of  this  region. 

Coronado  (1541)  did  not  quite  reach  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri, his  farthest  north  being  the  Kansas  River  or  the 
Big  Blue,  where  he  found  the  Quivira  Indians  —  evi- 
dently the  Wichitas,  close  kindred  of  the  Pawnees.  Cas- 
tafieda  says  of  these  people:  "In  some  villages  there 
are  as  many  as  two  hundred  houses ;  they  have  corn  and 
beans  and  melons;  they  do  not  have  cotton  nor  fowls, 
nor  do  they  make  bread  which  is  cooked,  except  under 
the  ashes."  3S 

Verendrye,  1738,  says  of  the  Mandans,  whom  he  vis- 
ited in  December  of  that  year:  "Their  fort  is  full  of 
caves,  in  which  are  stored  such  articles  as  grain,  food, 
fat,  dressed  robes,  bear  skins.  .  .  They  brought  me 

si  The  trade,  however,  was  of  small  extent  and  not  at  all  reg- 
ular. 

8»Ca8tafieda,  in  14th  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
p.  577. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  61 

every  day  more  than  twenty  dishes  of  wheat,39  beans 
and  pumpkins,  all  cooked."  40  "We  noticed  that  in  the 
plain  there  were  several  small  forts,  of  forty  or  fifty 
huts,  built  like  the  large  ones,  but  no  one  was  there  at 
the  time.41  They  made  us  understand  that  they  came 
inside  for  the  summer  to  work  their  fields  and  that  there 
was  a  large  reserve  of  grain  in  their  cellars. " 42  "  Wheat 
flour  pounded  for  the  journey  was  brought,  much  more 
than  was  necessary.  I  thanked  them,  giving  them  some 
needles  which  they  greatly  value.  They  would  have 
loaded  a  hundred  men  for  the  journey;  in  a  short  time 
all  hastened  to  bring  me  some. " 43  Of  the  Pananas 
(Arikaras)  and  Pananis  (Pawnees)  Verendrye  says: 
"In  summer  they  grow  wheat  and  tobacco  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  river. ' ' 44 

Henry     (1805)  :     "The     Mandanes     and     Saulteurs 

so  Verendrye  certainly  means  maize,  but  he  always  speaks  of 
it  as  Blee  "wheat"  and  as  grain. 

40  Verendrye  Journal,  in  Canadian  Archives  Eeports,  1889,  p. 
21. 

41  This  passage  in  Verendrye 's  journal  has  been  much  puzzled 
over.     From  recent  talks  with  the  Indians,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  Verendrye  is  here   referring  to   summer-villages  near   small 
tracts  of  good  farming  grounds,  and  that  these  temporary  sum- 
mer-villages were  made  necessary  because  of  the  lack  of  suffi- 
cient good  soil  for  all  of  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
main  villages.     The  Indians  inform  me  that  the  Mandan  village 
on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Mandan,  N.  D.,  was  called 
Scattered  Village  and  that  it  was  used  as  a  summer-village  by 
the  people  of  Big  Village,  who  went  there  each  year  to  plant  in 
the  fertile  Heart  Eiver  bottom  lands.  —  George  F.  Will. 

42  ' '  Beaucoup  de  grain  dans  les  caves  en  reserve, ' '  p.  22. 

43  Canadian  Archives  Report,  1889,  p.  25. 

44  Same,  p.  19. 


62  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

(Souliers)  are  a  stationary  people  who  never  leave  their 
villages  except  to  go  hunting  or  on  a  war  excursion. 
They  are  much  more  agricultural  than  their  neighbors, 
the  Big  Bellies  (Hidatsas),  raising  an  immense  quantity 
of  corn,  beans,  squashes,  tobacco"  (p.  338). 

LaRaye  (1801-1802):  "These  people  (the  Arikaras) 
are  much  more  cleanly  in  their  persons,  dress,  and  food 
than  the  Sioux.  These  Indians  raise  corn,  beans,  melons, 
pumpkins,  and  tobacco.  Their  tobacco  differs  from  that 
raised  by  white  people.  It  has  a  smaller  stalk  that  grows 
about  eighteen  inches  high,  with  long  narrow  leaves,  that 
is  used  only  for  smoking"  (p.  161).  Of  the  Mandans 
LaRaye  says:  "These  people  keep  their  lodges  and 
buildings  in  a  state  of  great  neatness.  They  cultivate 
the  same  kind  of  produce  with  the  Rus  (Ankara) "  (p. 
167). 

Lewis  and  Clark  (1804):  "They  (Arikaras)  culti- 
vate maize  or  Indian  corn,  beans,  pumpkins,  watermel- 
ons, squashes  and  a  species  of  tobacco  peculiar  to  them- 
selves." "The  Indians  (Mandans)  brought  corn,  beans, 
and  squashes  which  they  readily  gave  for  getting  their 
axes  and  kettles  mended." 

Bradbury  (1811)  :  "I  have  not  seen,  even  in  the 
United  States,  any  crop  of  Indian  corn  in  finer  order 
or  better  managed,  than  the  corn  about  these  three  ( Ari- 
kara)  villages.  They  also  cultivate  squashes,  beans,  and 
the  small  species  of  tobacco  (nicotiana  rustica)  "  *5  (p. 
175). 

Boiler:     "They    (Arikaras)    cultivate  large  fields  of 

*B  An  error  of  Bradbury  'a  —  the  Arikaras  raised  nicotiana 
quadrivalvis. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  63 

corn  and  also  pumpkins  and  squashes,  which  agreeably 
vary  their  diet  of  buffalo  meat"  (p.  33). 

Hayden  (1855)  :  "The  Mandans  at  this  time  num- 
ber about  35  or  40  huts,  perhaps  near  300  souls,  and 
raise  corn,  squashes,  beans,  etc.,  the  same  as  the  Mini- 
tarees  and  Arikaras"  (p.  434).  Of  the  Minitarees  or 
Hidatsas  he  says:  "Small  patches  of  corn,  beans, 
squashes,  pumpkins,  and  a  few  other  vegetables,  have 
been  cultivated  by  them  from  the  earliest  period  known, 
even  to  the  present"  (p.  240). 

Maximilian  (1833)  :  "The  Mandans  and  Manitaries 
cultivate  very  fine  maize  without  ever  manuring  the 
ground,  but  their  fields  are  on  the  low  banks  of  the 
river  .  .  .  where  the  soil  is  particularly  fruitful 
.  .  .  They  have  extremely  fine  maize  of  different 
species"  (p.  241).  "The  Indians  residing  in  perma- 
nent villages  have  the  advantage  of  the  roving,  hunting 
tribes  in  that  they  not  only  hunt  but  derive  their  chief 
subsistence  from  their  plantations  which  afford  them  a 
degree  of  security  against  distress.  The  distress  can 
never  be  so  great  among  the  Missouri  Indians  as  in  the 
tribes  that  live  farther  north.  The  plants  which  they 
cultivate  are  maize,  beans,  French  beans,  gourds,  sun- 
flowers, and  tobacco,  of  which  I  brought  home  some  seeds 
which  have  flowered  in  several  botanic  gardens"  (p: 
274). 

De  Smet,  writing  in  1867  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas, 
and  Arikaras,  says :  ' '  They  cultivate  a  large  field  (1,200 
acres),  raising  corn,  potatoes,  melons,  and  beans,  with 
no  tools  but  sharpened  sticks,  with  a  few  spades  and 
mattocks"  (p.  885).  Writing  of  the  Arikaras  in  1855, 


64  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Hayden  tells  us:  ''The  land  is  wrought  entirely  with 
hoes  by  the  women  and  the  vegetables  raised  are  Indian 
corn,  pumpkins,  and  squashes  of  several  kinds"  (p.  352). 

The  agent  for  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras 
stated  in  his  report  for  1878  that  this  had  been  the  best 
season  in  the  history  of  the  agency.  The  Indians  plant- 
ed 800  acres.  "More  than  half  of  this  they  have  pre- 
pared with  hoes.  This  has  been  as  nicely  planted  and  as 
cleanly  kept  as  any  farms  in  Minnesota.  I  estimate 
(August  24)  that  they  will  raise  15,000  bushels  of  corn 
and  5,000  bushels  of  potatoes,  besides  a  large  amount  of 
squashes,  beans,  turnips,  onions,  etc. ' ' 46 

Of  the  agriculture  of  the  tribes  farther  south  —  the 
Ponkas,  Omahas,  Otoes,  and  Pawnees  —  we  have  few 
early  accounts.  The  description  of  Omaha  agriculture 
contained  in  the  narrative  of  Long's  expedition  (1819- 
1820)  and  Dunbar's  account  of  Pawnee  agriculture  will 
be  quoted  farther  on. 

Chittenden,  speaking  of  all  of  the  agricultural  tribes 
of  the  Upper  Missouri,  states:  "In  regard  to  subsist- 
ence, permanent  residence  in  fixed  localities  made  pos- 
sible the  development  of  a  crude  agriculture  and  around 
all  these  villages  there  were  fields  of  corn"  (p.  844). 
Of  the  Mandans  he  says :  ' '  These  Indians  were  an  agri- 
cultural tribe  if  that  term  can  be  appropriately  applied 
to  the  crude  method  by  which  the  natives  cultivated  the 
soil.  The  principal  produce  was  maize,  but  they  also 
raised  certain  vegetables  introduced  by  the  whites." 

Chittenden  gives  too  little  credit  to  the  Indians  for 
their  agricultural  efforts.  It  is  true  the  acreage  planted 
was  small.  Dunbar  gives  the  size  of  the  family  patches 

™  Report,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1878,  p.  32. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  65 

among  the  Pawnees  as  from  one  to  three  acres,  the  aver- 
age being  closer  to  one  than  to  three  acres;  and  the 
acreage  of  all  of  the  other  tribes  on  the  Upper  Missouri 
was  in  early  days  about  the  same  as  among  the  Pawnees 
—  sometimes  a  little  less  and  sometimes  a  little  more. 
An  acre  may  seem  a  very  small  piece  of  ground  to  the 
American  farmer  of  today,  but  to  the  Indian  woman 
whose  only  implements  were  the  digging-stick,  the  wood 
or  antler  rake,  and  the  bone  or  iron  hoe,  an  acre  had  a 
different  look.  Chittenden  also  gives  a  false  impression 
that  among  these  tribes  corn  was  the  only  native  crop. 
It  is  true  that  some  vegetables :  notably  potatoes,  onions, 
and  turnips  were  introduced  by  the  whites;  but  from 
De  Soto  and  Coronado  down  to  Long  and  Maximilian 
all  of  our  early  authorities  agree  that  the  tribes  had, 
besides  corn,  tobacco,  and  many  varieties  of  squashes, 
pumpkins,  gourds,  melons,  and  beans.  They  also  culti- 
vated the  sunflower  for  its  edible  seeds.  Potatoes  were 
first  introduced  among  the  Mandans  by  James  Kipp, 
about  1832,  according  to  Maximilian.  This  crop  became 
a  favorite  one  among  all  of  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes, 
and  after  1860  the  Omahas  and  some  other  tribes  grew 
more  potatoes  than  corn. 

What  Maximilian  calls  French  beans  were  perhaps  the 
wild  ground  beans  of  the  Missouri  bottoms,  which  the 
Indians  used  very  extensively  but  did  not  cultivate. 

Hayden's  statement  as  to  the  length  of  time  during 
which  the  Hidatsas  had  cultivated  the  soil  does  not  agree 
with  other  accounts  or  with  the  Hidatsa  traditions,  which 
say  that  they  learned  agriculture  from  the  Mandans.47 

*7  Lieutenant  Clark  and  some  others  who  have  quoted  the 
Hidatsa  origin  tradition  have  stated  that  the  people  cultivated 


66  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Nearly  all  of  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes  have  lost  the 
seed  of  the  varieties  of  melons  grown  by  their  forefath- 
ers, but  there  is  evidence  that  all  or  nearly  all  of  these 
tribes  formerly  cultivated  melons.  LaRaye,  1801-1802, 
speaks  of  the  Arikara  melons,  and  Lewis  and  Clark  men- 
tion the  watermelons  grown  by  this  tribe.  There  does 
not  appear  to  be  any  record  of  melons  among  the  Man- 
dans  and  Hidatsas,  but  the  Omahas  grew  them,  as  did 
also  the  Pawnees,  who  are  said  to  still  preserve  the  seed, 
while  seed  of  one  of  these  old  varieties  has  recently  been 
secured  from  the  Ponkas.  The  Wichitas  still  grow  these 
old-time  melons.  The  Kansa  tribe  grew  both  musk- 
melons  and  watermelons  as  late  as  1819,48  while  Lieu- 
tenant Wilkinson  in  1806  ate  watermelons  at  the  Little 
Osage  village  and  describes  them  as  round,  "the  size  of 
a  24-pound  shot,"  and  finely  flavored.48 

To  sum  up,  it  is  evident  that  all  of  the  sedentary  tribes 
of  the  Upper  Missouri  area  grew  corn,  beans,  and 
squashes;  that  most  of  them  grew  pumpkins,  melons, 
gourds,  and  tobacco,  and  some  of  them  sunflowers.  They 
were  reasonably  good  farmers,  most  of  the  tribes  growing 
enough  corn,  beans,  and  squashes  to  supply  all  of  their 
needs,  and  two  or  three  tribes  laying  up  large  reserves 
of  corn  and  vegetables  for  purposes  of  trade.  The  wo- 
men did  all  or  most  of  the  work,  digging  the  ground, 

corn  at  the  time  when  they  came  out  of  the  ground  near  Devil's 
Lake.  Modern  versions  of  the  tradition  do  not  include  this  state- 
ment however,  but  say  that  at  that  time  the  people  cultivated 
ground  beans  and  wild  potatoes,  two  crops  that  were  not  really 
cultivated  at  all  but  merely  gathered. 

« Long's  Expedition,  Thwaites  edition,  Y.  i,  p.  191. 

« Pike's  Expeditions,  v.  ii,  p.  541. 


By  permission  of  the  Montana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

MANDAN  SQUASH 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  69 

planting  with  care,  and  usually  hoeing  all  of  the  patches 
twice  before  the  tribe  set  out  on  its  summer  hunt.  The 
plants  cultivated  and  the  general  cultural  methods  cor- 
responded closely  to  those  of  the  tribes  farther  east,  a 
good  account  of  which  is  given  in  Arthur  C.  Parker's 
recent  paper  on  Iroquois  agriculture.50 

The  corn  raised  by  the  Indians  of  the  Missouri  Valley 
varies  from  the  Pawnee  corn,  some  six  to  ten  feet  high, 
to  the  corn  obtained  in  late  years  by  the  Assiniboins  of 
Montana  from  the  Mandans  and  by  the  Assiniboins  of 
Canada  from  the  Sisseton  Sioux,  which  has  been  accli- 
mated by  them  and  which  seldom  attains  a  height  of 
over  two  feet.  From  the  Pawnee  corn  in  the  south  we 
get  a  regular  gradation  as  we  ascend  the  river,  the 
size  of  the  plants  and  ears  decreasing  and  the  length 
of  season  required  to  mature  the  crop  diminishing. 

The  varieties  of  corn  grown  by  the  Missouri  River 
tribes  will  be  described  at  length  farther  on.  A  brief 
survey  of  the  species  may  be  given  here.  The  dent  corn 
to  which  white  men  have  largely  devoted  their  attention 
in  breeding,  was  not  raised  by  the  Indians  of  the  Upper 
Missouri;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  Omahas  and 
Pawnees,  popcorn  seems  to  have  been  unknown  among 
these  tribes,  until  introduced  by  the  whites.  They  raised 
only  three  species:  the  flour,  the  flint,  and  the  sweet 
corns. 

The  flint  corn  is  usually  eight  rowed,  occasionally  ten 
or  twelve  rowed ;  this  species  is  high  in  protein  and  the 
grain  is  very  hard  and  heavy.  The  flour  corn  resem- 

so  Iroquois  uses  of  maize  and  other  food  plants,  by  Arthur  C. 
Parker,  New  York  State  Museum,  Bulletin  144,  Albany,  1910. 


70  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

bles  the  flint  in  the  number  of  rows  and  in  general  ap- 
pearance, but  the  grain  is  much  softer  and  lighter  in 
weight,  being  largely  composed  of  starch  and  deficient 
in  the  proteins.  This  species  was  the  most  popular  with 
the  Indians,  as  it  could  be  easily  crushed  or  ground 
and  was  much  softer  than  the  flint  when  eaten  parched. 
This  is  the  species  usually  referred  to  by  many  writers 
who  have  stated  that  Indian  corn  was  of  little  value  as  a 
stock  food.  The  sweet  corn  is  high  in  sugar  content, 
and  the  grains  when  ripe  and  dry  always  have  a  shriv- 
elled and  wrinkled  appearance. 

All  of  these  three  species  were  represented  in  the 
Upper  Missouri  Valley  by  many  varieties  of  diverse 
colors  and  periods  of  maturity.  Of  the  corn  plant,  as 
raised  by  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes,  we  have  several 
good  descriptions  by  early  travelers.  As  has  been  said, 
the  size  of  the  plants  and  ears  varied  greatly.  This  va- 
riation was  not  a  matter  of  latitude  alone,  but  was  some- 
times due  to  special  seasonal  or  soil  conditions.  It  is 
this  adaptability  to  conditions  of  climate  and  soil  which 
accounts  for  the  extreme  hardiness  of  the  Indian  varie- 
ties of  corn  and  for  the  fact  that  a  failure  of  the  crop 
was  rarely  absolute.51  In  a  poor  year  and  in  poor  soil 
the  Mandan  varieties  will  seldom  rise  higher  than  two 
feet,  the  ears  being  not  over  three  or  four  inches  long 
with  very  few  to  a  hill.52  In  a  good  season,  and  es- 

6i  The  only  complete  crop  failures  mentioned  on  the  Upper 
Missouri  in  early  times  appear  to  have  been  caused  by  the 
"grasshoppers"  which  descended  in  dense  clouds  and  in  a  few 
hours  stripped  the  corn  patches  bare. 

52  Catlin  must  have  been  on  the  Upper  Missouri  in  a  bad  year, 
as  he  says  that  the  Mandan  corn  produced  ears  no  longer  than  a 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  71 

pecially  in  the  rich  bottom  soil  of  the  river  valley,  the 
same  varieties  will  attain  a  height  of  five  or  six  feet  and 
will  sucker  profusely,  producing  many  ears  to  a  hill, 
some  of  which  will  be  seven  to  eleven  inches  in  length. 

Another  attribute  of  this  northern  Indian  corn  is  the 
very  heavy  foliage,  making  a  hill  appear  almost  like  a 
bush.  This  characteristic  is  very  marked  in  cross  breeds 
and  distinguishes  the  improved  crosses  which  contain  a 
northern  Indian  strain.  Bradbury,  himself  a  botanist, 
said  of  the  Hidatsa  corn  in  1811 :  "  On  our  approach 
some  fields  of  Indian  corn  lay  betwixt  us  and  the  vil- 
lages .  .  .  the  corn  was  now  nearly  a  yard  high 
.  .  .  This  is  about  the  full  height  to  which  the  maize 
grows  in  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  when  this  circumstance 
is  connected  with  the  quickness  with  which  it  grows  and 
matures,  it  is  a  wonderful  instance  of  the  power  given 
to  some  plants  to  accommodate  themselves  to  cli- 
mate. .  .  This  plant  is  certainly  the  same  species  of 
zea  that  is  cultivated  within  the  tropics,  where  it  us- 
ually requires  four  months  to  ripen  and  rises  to  the 
height  of  twelve  feet.  Here  ten  weeks  is  sufficient,  with 
a  much  less  degree  of  heat.  Whether  or  not  this  prop- 
erty is  more  peculiar  to  plants  useful  to  men,  and  given 
for  wise  and  benevolent  purposes,  I  will  not  attempt  to 
determine."  53 

Hayden  (1855)  also  gives  a  very  brief  account  of  the 
northern  Missouri  River  corn:  "The  corn  is  said  to 
be  the  original  kind  discovered  with  the  continent  and 

man's   thumb.     With   good   treatment  in   a   favorable  year   this 
corn  today  produced  large  plump  ears,  seven  to  eleven  inches  long. 
53  Bradbury,  Thwaites  edition,  p.  159  (and  footnote). 


72  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

is  quite  different  in  appearance  from  that  raised  in  the 
states.  The  stalk  is  from  three  to  six  feet  in  height, 
seldom  more  than  four  or  four  and  a  half  feet,  and  the 
ears  grow  in  clusters  near  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
One  or  two  ears  sometimes  grow  higher  up  on  the  stalk, 
which  appears  too  slender  to  support  any  more  grain. 
The  grain  is  small,  hard  and  covered  with  a  thicker 
shell  [husk]  than  that  raised  in  wanner  climates.  It 
does  not  possess  the  same  nutritive  qualities  as  feed  for 
animals  as  the  larger  kind,  but  is  more  agreeable  to  the 
taste  of  the  Indians.  It  is  raised  with  so  little  labor  that 
it  seems  well  calculated  for  them.  An  acre  usually  pro- 
duces about  twenty  bushels"  (p.  352).  Boiler  says  of 
the  corn  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras :  "It 
is  a  species  of  Canada  corn,  very  hardy  and  of  quick 
growth.  It  is  of  all  colors ;  red,  black,  blue,  yellow,  pur- 
ple, white;  sometimes  a  single  ear  presents  a  combination 
of  all  these  hues"  (p.  118).  By  Canada  corn  he  prob- 
ably means  flint  corn,  as  that  name  was  usually  applied 
to  the  most  popular  varieties  of  that  type  in  the  eastern 
states  in  his  day. 

Summing  up  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  north- 
ern Missouri  River  corn :  It  is  short,  rarely  attaining  a 
height  of  six  feet,  and  often  below  four.  It  is  very 
much  addicted  to  suckering  or  stooling  from  the  root, 
and  its  foliage  is  heavier  than  the  average.  The  ears 
are  from  three  to  nine  or  ten  inches  long,  usually  eight 
rowed  in  all  three  species  (flour,  flint,  and  sweet  corn), 
and  they  grow  very  close  to  the  ground,  often  emerging 
from  the  ground  on  a  short  stalk  or  shoot  from  the  main 
stalk.  There  are  frequently  two  ears  to  a  stalk  and 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  73 

three  are  not  exceptional  in  a  very  good  season.  It  is 
extremely  hardy,  not  only  adapting  itself  to  varying 
amounts  of  moisture  and  producing  some  crop  under 
drought  conditions,  but  resistant  also  to  the  unseason- 
able frosts  which  are  apt  to  occur  in  the  home  region. 
It  will  sprout  in  spring  weather  that  would  rot  most 
varieties  of  corn,  and  once  sprouted  it  grows  very  rapid- 
ly. Its  period  from  planting  to  maturity  is  about  sixty 
days  in  a  favorable  year,  and  rarely  are  more  than  sev- 
enty days  required.  We  may  add  here  an  extract  from 
a  recent  publication  of  the  Montana  Agricultural  Col- 
lege Experiment  Station : 54 

"Early  Flints.  These  varieties  originated  in  North 
Dakota  and  contain  'blood'  of  the  old  Mandan  Indian 
corn.  The  stalks  grow  about  four  feet  in  height  and 
are  very  leafy.  The  ears  are  borne  close  to  the  ground 
and  cannot  be  cut  with  a  corn-binder.  These  corns  will 
stand  more  hardship  in  the  way  of  droughts,  poor  culti- 
vation, frosts,  etc.,  than  any  other  kind.  They  have 
been  the  highest  yielders  of  grain,  as  a  group,  of  all  of 
the  varieties  tested  in  Montana  on  dry  land.  They  are 
the  earliest  matured,  withstanding  hail  well,  and  make 
a  crop  even  in  a  very  dry  year.  They  are  recommended 
to  be  grown  all  over  the  state  where  the  season  will 
permit  them  to  ripen. ' ' 

The  varieties  grown  by  the  Pawnees  and  other  tribes 
in  Nebraska  were  very  much  like  those  grown  farther 
north.  Thus  we  find  that  the  Pawnees  and  Mandans 
both  have  the  same  varieties  of  white,  yellow,  and  blue 

s* Bulletin  107,  "Corn  in  Montana,"  by  Alfred  Atkinson  and 
M.  L.  Wilson,  Bozeman,  Mont.,  October,  1915. 


74  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

flour  corn  today,  and  they  formerly  had  the  same  varie- 
ties of  black,  red,  and  red-striped  corn.  These  south- 
ern strains  attain  a  larger  growth  and  produce  larger 
ears  than  do  the  northern  ones.  The  Pawnee  corn  grows 
eight  to  ten  feet  high ;  the  plants  are  given  to  suckering 
and  the  ears  are  borne  much  higher  on  the  stalk  than  in 
the  case  of  the  Mandan  and  other  northern  varieties. 
None  of  the  early  travelers  on  the  Upper  Missouri  have 
left  descriptions  of  the  corn  of  the  Pawnees,  Otoes, 
Omahas,  and  Ponkas,  and  what  little  we  know  of  the 
corn  of  these  tribes  has  been  gleaned  from  the  planting 
of  small  patches  of  many  varieties  during  the  past  two 
or  three  years.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  these 
southern  varieties  seem  as  hardy  and  well  adapted  to 
meet  the  conditions  in  their  home  region  as  are  the 
varieties  grown  higher  up  the  Missouri. 

As  was  usual  with  most  of  the  tribes  of  the  United 
States,  the  women  of  the  Upper  Missouri  did  most  of  the 
village  work;  not  only  were  they  the  cooks  and  house- 
keepers, but  the  farmers  as  well  and,  as  we  shall  see, 
very  good  farmers. 

Maximilian  states  (Mandans)  :  "The  building  of  the 
huts,  manufacture  of  their  arms,  hunting,  and  wars, 
and  part  of  the  labors  of  the  harvest  are  the  occupations 
of  the  men.  The  women  .  .  .  lay  out  the  planta- 
tions, perform  the  field  labor,  etc."  (p.  271). 

Catlin  (Mandans)  :  "This  (the  gardening)  is  all 
done  by  the  women." 

Bradbury  (Arikaras)  :  "The  women  as  is  the  custom 
with  the  Indians  do  all  the  drudgery,  and  are  excellent 
cultivators"  (p.  175). 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  75 

Matthews  (Hidatsas)  :  "Every  woman  in  the  village 
capable  of  working  had  her  own  piece  of  ground"  (p. 
11). 

Dunbar  (Pawnees)  :  The  women  "dug  the  ground, 
planted,  hoed,  gathered,  dried,  and  stored  the  corn."53 

Long  (1819)  states  that  the  Omaha  women  did  all  of 
the  field  work. 

Most  of  these  early  accounts  give  the  impression  that 
the  women  were  drudges  who  were  forced  to  perform 
most  of  the  heavy  labor,  including  that  of  the  fields.  To 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Indians  it  will  be 
easily  understood  that  this  conception  of  the  position 
of  Indian  women  needs  to  be  considerably  modified. 
While  there  is  no  question  that  the  women's  work  was 
severe,  yet  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  women 
performed  their  tasks  willingly  and  took  great  pride  in 
doing  their  work  well.  To  those  who  have  seen  the  In- 
dian woman  patiently  and  solicitously  working  about 
her  garden  it  must  be  evident  that  she  loved  her  work 
there  and  enjoyed  it. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  in  the  Upper  Missouri  region  the 
spring  was  longingly  awaited  as  the  time  to  commence 
work  on  the  gardens  which  furnished  much  of  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  summer  season ;  and  the  harvest  time,  though 
a  season  of  rejoicing,  yet  was  also  a  time  of  regret  for 
the  pleasant  summer  passed.  The  Indian  woman  was  a 
real  gardener.  Her  methods  were  not  those  of  the  bo- 
nanza farmer  of  the  present  day,  but  resembled  more 
closely  those  of  the  modern  market  gardener  or  green- 
house man.  She  attended  to  every  little  detail,  work- 

55  Magazine  of  American  History,  v.  ii,  p.  264. 


76  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ing  slowly  and  carefully  and  taking  the  utmost  pains. 
She  knew  the  habits  of  each  of  her  plants  and  the  habits 
of  each  separate  variety  of  all  the  species  cultivated, 
and  she  worked  with  careful  regard  for  these  diiferences. 


II  — PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION 

1.     SPRING  WORK  :  CLEARING  AND  PLANTING  THE  GROUND. 

2.    HOEING  AND  WEEDING.     3.    THE  PATCHES, 

ACREAGE,  AND  YIELDS 

1.     Spring  work:  clearing  and  planting  the  ground 

On  the  Upper  Missouri  the  agricultural  operations  for 
the  year  began  as  soon  as  the  ground  was  sufficiently 
thawed  in  the  spring,  or  even  earlier  if  a  new  plot  was 
to  be  cleared  for  use.  In  the  latter  case  all  of  the  brush 
was  first  cut  off,  and  of  the  larger  trees  all  except  one  or 
two  were  girdled.1  Then  the  brush  was  piled  in  heaps 
and  burned.  In  an  old  garden  the  work  usually  started 
when  the  first  geese  appeared  on  their  way  north  or 
when  the  Missouri  River  broke  up,  events  which  usually 
occurred  almost  together.  At  this  time  the  old  weeds 
and  stalks  and  vines  which  had  not  been  disposed  of  in 
the  fall  were  collected  and  burned.2 

Of  the  Hidatsas  Henry  says:  "In  the  spring  they 
return  from  the  winter  villages  to  sow  their  fields,  while 
the  men  are  employed  getting  driftwood  and  drowned 
buffalo  from  the  river"  (p.  349). 

Boiler  has  considerable  to  say  of  the  spring  work 

1  This  refers  to  the  tribes  that  cultivated  the  Missouri  River 
bottoms,  where  the  land  was  often  timbered.     The  Pawnees  and 
Otoes  lived  away  from  the  Missouri  in  almost  timberless  country. 

2  Dr.   Wilson   states  that  the   Hidatsas  began   planting  when 
the  wild  gooseberries  were  in  full  leaf. 


78 


among  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras:  "In  the 
spring,  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground,  the 
women  break  up  their  patches  of  land,  every  foot  must 
be  turned  up  and  loosened  with  the  hoe  —  a  slow  and 
toilsome  operation.  .  .  While  the  operation  of  break- 
ing the  ground,  planting  and  fencing  is  going  on,  wood 
has  also  to  be  carried  to  the  lodges,  for  those  great 
round,  earth  covered  dwellings  of  the  Minnetarees  are 
very  chill  during  the  early,  damp  spring  weather;  re- 
quiring much  fuel  for  warming  as  well  as  cooking"  (p. 
118). 

Dunbar  states  that  the  Pawnees  remained  on  their 
winter  hunt  in  the  Plains  until  the  young  grass  began 
to  appear  early  in  April,  and  then  returned  to  their 
villages  to  clear  and  plant  the  patches.  On  another  page 
he  says  that  the  patches  were  cleared  out  as  soon  as  the 
frost  was  out  of  the  ground. 

Dougherty  states  that  the  Omahas  also  returned  to 
their  village  from  the  winter  hunt  in  April,  to  clear  and 
plant  their  patches. 

In  April,  while  they  were  clearing  up  the  corn  patches, 
the  women  were  also  busily  engaged  in  dressing  the 
buffalo  robes  and  peltries  collected  during  the  winter. 
Many  of  the  early  travelers  state  that  at  this  period  of 
the  year  the  men  did  nothing,  sitting  around  smoking 
and  chatting  while  the  women  toiled;  but  upon  a  closer 
examination  of  the  available  sources  it  becomes  evident 
that  these  statements  are  misleading.  Thus  we  find  that 
the  men  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  en- 
gaged in  hunting  while  the  women  cleared  the  patches, 
and  that  they  were  also  occupied  in  catching  driftwood 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  79 

and  drowned  buffalo  among  the  floating  ice  cakes  in  the 
Missouri.  In  April  the  men  of  the  Omahas  were  busily 
engaged  in  hunting,  often  making  trips  of  seventy  or 
eighty  miles  in  quest  of  deer  and  elk;  while  at  the  same 
time  they  trapped  all  of  the  small  creeks  within  many 
miles  of  the  village  for  beaver,  otter,  and  muskrat. 

After  the  fields  were  cleared,  the  hills  were  dug  up 
with  the  digging-stick,  the  ground  being  pried  up,  loos- 
ened, and  pulverized.  These  hills  were  about  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter  and  a  good  long  step  apart,3 
The  ground  between  the  hills  was  not  usually  broken  up, 
but  the  same  ground  was  planted  year  after  year,  and  in 
the  older  patches  the  position  of  the  hills  was  sometimes 
shifted,  until  finally  the  whole  area  of  the  garden  had 
been  dug  over.  Sunflowers  were  usually  planted  around 
the  edge  of  the  garden  before  the  clearing  and  digging 
work  were  completed.  This  crop  was  the  first  to  be  put 
in;  the  Mandan  time  for  planting  is  given  as  when  the 
river  breaks  up. 

After  the  ground  had  been  cleared  and  well  stirred 
up,  the  planting  of  corn  and  vegetables  commenced.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  the  names  of  the  different  moons 
among  these  tribes. 

3  Buffalo  Bird  Woman  states  that  in  the  old  days  when  clear- 
ing a  new  field  the  women  dug  the  corn  hills  with  digging-sticks, 
and  after  planting  the  corn  they  dug  between  the  rows  with  bone 
hoes.  In  later  times  they  performed  both  these  operations  with 
iron  hoes.  In  clearing  new  ground  the  women  did  all  of  the 
work,  a  few  of  the  older  men  helping  them  at  times.  They  cut 
the  willows  and  brush  in  the  fall,  and  in  the  spring  spread  them 
evenly  over  the  ground  and  burned  them.  This  was  done  to  make 
the  ground  softer  and  easier  to  dig. 


80  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Maximilian  states  that  the  Mandans  call  May  the  moon 
when  maize  is  sown.  Clark  (Indian  Sign  Language] 
says  the  ninth  moon  in  the  old  Cheyenne  calendar  (evi- 
dently May)  was  called  "The  corn  is  planted."  Pres- 
cott,  1850  (in  Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  v.  ii),  gives  a 
list  of  Sioux  moons :  May,  corn  is  planted ;  June,  corn  is 
hoed;  August,  corn  is  gathered;  September,  wild  rice  is 
gathered.  The  Omahas  called  May  the  planting  moon. 
The  Pawnees  called  April  the  field-cleaning  moon ;  May, 
the  planting  moon;  June,  the  cultivating  moon;  and 
July,  "Moon-plant-search-complete,  or  Burning  Moon."  4 

Hayden:  "Indians  plant  about  the  middle  of  April 
or  the  beginning  of  May,  according  to  the  mildness  or 
severity  of  the  spring,  and  the  ears  are  gathered  about 
the  beginning  of  August"  (p.  352). 

Merrill  (May  12,  1834)  :  "It  is  now  planting  time 
(among  the  Otoes).  The  men  lay  upon  their  couches 
or  sit  upon  the  ground  and  smoke  their  pipes  all  day 
long;  while  the  women  go  from  half  a  mile  to  two  miles 
to  plant  their  corn,  often,  too,  carrying  a  babe  with 
them.  They  are  also  required  to  bring  their  wood  and 
water,  which  are  half  a  mile  distant. "  5  On  the  follow- 
ing day  Merrill  visited  the  patches,  which  were  along 
the  margins  of  small  creeks  near  the  Platte.  In  Chief 
letan's  patch  three  of  the  chief's  wives  and  some  other 
women  were  digging  up  the  soil  with  heavy  hoes. 

*  Meaning  the  moon  when  the  corn  is  found  to  be  complete 
(that  is,  fit  for  use)  or  the  (Corn)  Roasting  Moon?  See  Dor- 
sey,  Traditions  of  the  Slcidi  Pawnee,  p.  203,  for  a  full  list  o-f 
Pawnee  moons. 

5  The  Diary  of  Rev.  Moses  Merrill,  in  Neb.  State  Hist.  Soc. 
Transactions,  iv,  p.  164. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  81 

Of  the  Omahas  Dougherty  states:  ''In  the  month  of 
May  they  attend  to  their  horticultural  interests,  and 
plant  maize,  beans,  pumpkins,  and  water-melons,  be- 
sides which  they  cultivate  no  other  vegetable. ' ' 6 

In  a  recently  published  account  of  the  Omahas,  by 
Miss  Alice  Fletcher  and  Francis  La  Flesche,7  we  have  a 
more  detailed  description  of  the  planting  operations  of 
this  tribe :  ' '  The  bottom  lands  were  the  planting  places ; 
each  family  selected  its  plot,  and  as  long  as  the  land 
was  cultivated  its  occupancy  was  respected.  Corn, 
beans,  squash,  and  melons  were  raised  in  considerable 
quantities"  (p.  95).  " Garden  patches  were  located  on 
the  borders  of  streams.  Occupancy  constituted  owner- 
ship and  as  long  as  a  tract  was  cultivated  by  a  family 
no  one  molested  the  crops  or  intruded  on  the  ground; 
but  if  a  garden  patch  was  abandoned  for  a  season  then 
the  ground  was  considered  free  for  anyone  to  utilize. 
Men  and  women  worked  together  on  the  garden  plots,8 
which  ranged  from  half  an  acre  to  two  or  three  acres  in 
extent.  Occasionally  a  good  worker  had  even  a  larger 
tract  under  cultivation.  These  gardens  were  mounded 
in  a  peculiar  manner:  The  earth  was  heaped  into  ob- 
long mounds,  their  tops  flat,  about  18  by  24  inches,  and 
so  arranged  as  to  slant  toward  the  south.  The  height 
on  the  north  side  was  about  18  inches;  on  the  south  the 
plot  was  level  with  the  surface  of  the  ground.  These 
mounds  were  2  or  3  feet  apart  on  all  sides.  In  one 

e  Long's  Expedition,  1819-1820,  Thwaites  edition,  v.  i,  p.  289. 

7  ' '  The  Omaha  Tribe, ' '  by  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  21ih  Re- 
port, Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 

s  All  of  our  early  informants  state  that  the  Omaha  men  did 
not  assist  the  women. 


82  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

mound  seven  kernels  of  corn  were  scattered ;  in  the  next 
mound  squash  seeds  were  placed,  and  so  on  alternately. 
If  the  family  had  under  cultivation  a  large  garden  tract 
the  beans  were  put  into  mounds  by  themselves  and  wil- 
low poles  were  provided  for  the  vines  to  climb  upon; 
but  if  ground  space  was  limited  the  beans  were  planted 
with  the  corn,  the  stalk  serving  the  same  purpose  as 
poles.  Squash  and  corn  were  not  planted  together,  nor 
were  corn,  beans,  and  squash  grown  together  in  the  same 
mound.  After  the  planting  the  ground  was  kept  free 
of  weeds  and  when  the  corn  was  well  sprouted  it  was 
hoed  with  an  implement  made  from  the  shoulder  blade 
of  the  elk.  The  second  hoeing  took  place  when  the  corn 
was  a  foot  or  more  high.  Up  to  this  time  the  mounds 
were  carefully  weeded  by  hand  and  the  earth  was  kept 
free  and  loose.  After  the  second  hoeing  the  corn  was 
left  to  grow  and  ripen  without  further  cultivation.  The 
mounds  containing  the  squash  and  those  in  which  the 
melons  were  planted  were  weeded  and  cared  for  until 
the  second  hoeing  of  the  corn,  when  they,  too,  were 
left,  as  about  this  time  the  tribe  started  out  on  the 
annual  buffalo  hunt"  (p.  269).  "In  clearing  the 
ground  for  planting,  the  heavy  part  of  the  work  was  not 
infrequently  done  by  men  as  were  the  cutting  and  trans- 
porting of  the  large  posts  needed  for  building  the  earth 
lodge"  (p.  339). 

The  Rev.  Gilbert  L.  Wilson  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  planting  among  the  Hidatsas : 9     ' '  Corn  plant- 

9  Corn  in  Montana,  Bulletin  107,  Montana  Agricultural  College 
Experiment  Station,  Bozeman,  Mont.,  1915,  p.  43. 

I  have  recently  obtained  the  following  additional  information 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  83 

ing  began  in  the  first  half  of  May,  after  sunflower  seed 
had  been  planted.  The  field  was  raked  free  of  debris 
and  the  stalks  of  last  year's  crop,  and  the  dried  piles  of 
debris  were  burned.  The  corn  was  planted  in  hills, 
three  or  four  feet  apart,  seven  or  eight  kernels  in  a  hill. 
The  earth  was  loosened  with  a  wooden  digging  stick,  or 
with  a  hoe.  Each  corn  hill  stood  exactly  where  a  hill 
had  stood  the  year  before.  Beans  were  commonly  plant- 
ed between  the  corn  hills.  .  .  As  soon  as  weeds  ap- 
peared after  planting,  the  field  was  hoed.  A  second 
hoeing,  and  hilling  up  of  the  plants  followed  soon  after. 

"Rotation  of  crops  and  fertilization  were  not  prac- 
ticed, but  when  a  field  began  to  fail,  it  was  let  lie  fallow 
for  a  couple  of  years.  The  value  of  the  ashes  left  from 
burning  over  a  newly  made  field  was  understood. 

' '  Indians  insist  that  corn  culture  by  hoe  is  much  hard- 
er now,  owing  to  the  abundance  of  weeds  that  have  been 

from  the  Hidatsas:  Fields  were  marked  out  by  mounds  of  earth 
at  the  four  corners.  Sometimes  another  woman  would  encroach 
on  a  field  and  the  matter  would  be  disputed  until  the  intruder 
was  bought  or  driven  out.  Corn  was  planted  six  or  eight  ker- 
nels in  a  hill.  Often  a  second  planting  of  corn  was  made  when 
the  june-berries  were  ripe,  in  order  to  secure  late  roasting  ears. 
Sweet  (sugar)  corn  was  never  used  for  roasting  ears,  hard  or  soft 
yellow  corn  being  considered  best  for  that  purpose.  A  sort  of 
bread  was  made  from  pounded  fresh  green  corn,  but  never  from 
ripe  corn.  Hard  white  and  hard  yellow  corn  were  never  parched, 
and  therefore  were  never  braided.  Seed  ears  of  these  varieties 
were  selected  from  the  completely  husked  out  pile  of  ears  on  the 
drying  stage.  The  Hidatsas  did  not  have  either  watermelons  or 
pumpkins.  Sunflower  heads  were  often  eleven  inches  across. 
Each  family  planted  only  one  variety  of  sunflower,  one  family 
planting  the  black,  another  the  white,  etc.  —  George  F.  Will. 


84  COEN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

brought  in  by  white  men.  One  curious  custom  was  their 
carefully  removing  all  dung  of  horses  from  the  field  in 
the  spring,  because  'weeds  always  came  up  where  the 
dung  lay  and  we  thought  that  white  man's  cattle  and 
horses  brought  the  seeds. '  ' 

Buffalo  Bird  Woman  (Hidatsa)  states  that  the  crows 
pulled  up  the  corn  plants  when  they  were  an  inch  or  so 
high  and  the  spotted  gophers  dug  up  the  sprouted  seed. 
At  planting  time  young  girls  often  watched  the  fields, 
to  frighten  off  the  crows;  scare-crows  were  also  set  up, 
but  were  of  little  service,  and  the  women  often  had  to 
go  over  the  fields  and  replant  where  the  crows  and  go- 
phers had  been  at  work. 

Dunbar^  states  of  the  Pawnees :  The  corn  patches  were 
usually  on  some  small  stream  near  the  village,  but  some- 
times five  or  more  miles  away.  The  ground  was  cleared 
and  dug  as  soon  as  the  frost  was  out  of  the  soil  in  spring ; 
the  corn  was  planted  in  early  May  and  was  hoed  twice, 
the  second  time  about  the  middle  of  June;  and  imme- 
diately after  the  second  hoeing  the  tribe  set  out  on  its 
summer  hunt.  He  states  that  where  the  corn  patches 
were  not  protected  by  the  high  bank  of  the  stream  or  by 
some  other  natural  obstacle,  they  wrere  rudely  fenced 
with  bushes  and  tree  branches  woven  together.10 

James  visited  the  Pawnee  villages  with  Long's  ex- 
pedition in  1820.11  "The  agriculture  of  the  Pawnees 
is  extremely  rude.  They  are  supplied  with  a  few  hoes 
by  the  traders,  but  many  of  their  labours  are  accom- 

ioDunbar's  account  of  the  Pawnees  is  printed  in  Magazine  of 
American  History,  v.  iv  and  v. 

11  Long 's  Expedition,  Thwaites,  Early  Western  Travels,  v.  xv. 


By  permission  of  the  Nebraska  Historical  Society. 

Above:    RAWHIDE  BOWL  AND  STONE  MORTAR 
Below:    BONE  HOE  (BUFFALO  SHOULDER  BLADE) 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  87 

plished  with,  the  rude  implements  of  wood  and  bone 
which  their  own  ingenuity  supplies.  They  plant  corn 
and  pumpkins  in  little  patches  along  the  sides  of  deep 
ravines,  and  wherever  by  any  accident  the  grassy  turf 
has  been  eradicated.  Sometimes  these  little  plantations 
are  enclosed  by  a  sort  of  wicker  fence,  and  in  other  in- 
stances are  left  entirely  open.  These  last  are  probably 
watched  by  the  squaws  during  the  day  time,  when  the 
horses  run  at  large"  (p.  216).  On  June  11:  "At  a 
few  miles  distance  from  the  village,  we  met  a  party  of 
eight  or  ten  squaws  with  hoes  and  other  instruments  of 
agriculture,  on  their  way  to  the  corn  plantations.  They 
were  accompanied  by  one  young  Indian"  (p.  204).  "As 
day  began  to  dawn  on  the  following  morning,  numer- 
ous parties  of  squaws,  accompanied  by  their  dogs,  were 
seen  on  their  way  from  the  village  to  the  corn  patches, 
scattered  at  the  distance  of  several  miles"  (p.  209).  On 
the  13th :  "As  soon  as  the  day  dawned  we  observed  the 
surrounding  plain,  filled  with  groups  of  squaws,  with 
their  small  children,  trooping  to  their  cornfields  in  every 
direction.  Some,  who  passed  our  encampment,  lingered 
a  moment  to  admire  our  novel  appearance;  but  the  air 
of  serious  business  was  manifest  in  their  countenances, 
and  they  soon  hurried  away  to  their  daily  labours.  Some 
of  the  groups  of  young  females  were  accompanied  by  a 
jolly  looking  young  man  as  a  protector"  (p.  217). 

Scattered  Corn,  an  elderly  Mandan  matron,  whose 
father  was  the  last  Mandan  corn  priest,  and  who  is  an 
excellent  gardener  herself,  gives  the  following  informa- 
tion on  Mandan  planting: 

The  corn  was  usually  planted  in  May;  that  is,  the 


88 


planting  of  corn  was  started  then.  It  was  a  laborious 
task,  and  the  work  had  to  be  done  in  the  intervals  be- 
tween the  usual  household  tasks.  In  the  larger  fields 
the  planting  occupied  the  time  from  early  in  May  until 
the  time  when  the  roses  bloom  in  June.  The  rows  were 
measured  off  about  a  long  step  apart,  the  rows  of  corn 
alternating  with  rows  of  beans.  Seven  or  eight  kernels 
of  corn  were  planted  in  each  hill,  each  kernel  being  care- 
fully placed  with  the  fingers,  a  small  hole  being  punched 
in  the  earth,  the  grain  inserted  and  the  earth  carefully 
patted  down.  Then  the  woman  moved  on  to  the  next 
hill.  If  the  garden  was  small,  there  was  an  interval 
after  the  corn  planting  before  the  beans  were  planted, 
but  in  the  larger  gardens  the  beans  were  planted  imme- 
diately following  the  corn.  The  beans  were  planted  in 
the  same  manner  as  corn  about  six  inches  apart  in  the 
hill.  After  the  beans,  the  planting  of  the  squash  com- 
pleted the  planting  work.  These  were  planted  when  the 
roses  commenced  to  bloom. 

The  implements  used  by  the  Mandans  were  the  hoe, 
the  digging-stick,  and  the  rake.  The  digging-stick  was 
a  heavy  ash  pole  about  three  and  a  half  feet  long  and 
one  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter.  The  point  was  sharp- 
ened and  hardened  in  the  fire.12  Of  rakes  there  were 
two  sorts,  one  from  the  deer  antler,  the  other  made  of 
long  willow  shoots,  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  cleverly  spread  and  bent  at  the  lower  ends 

!2  Buffalo  Bird  Woman  describes  the  Hidatsa  digging-stick  as 
a  stout  ash  sapling  with  a  slight  bend  at  the  root.  The  end  was 
trimmed  to  a  three-cornered  point;  this  was  well  greased  with 
bone-butter,  wrapped  in  dry  grass,  and  fired.  The  slight  char- 
ring made  the  point  nearly  as  hard  as  iron. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  89 

to  form  the  teeth,  while  the  upper  ends  of  the  long 
straight  whips  were  bound  together  with  rawhide  thongs, 
to  form  the  handle.  The  rake  and  the  digging-stick 
were  used  only  in  clearing  and  preparing  the  ground 
for  planting;  the  hoe  was  the  great  implement  of  culti- 
vation. In  early  times  it  was  usually  made  of  the 
shoulder-blade  of  the  buffalo  or  elk,  trimmed  down  and 
neatly  fitted  and  tied  to  a  wooden  handle.  Arisa,  the 
Skidi  Pawnee  priest,  stated  that  the  bone  blade  was  at- 
tached to  the  handle  with  tough  gristle  taken  from  the 
neck  of  the  buffalo. 

Bradbury  (p.  175)  :  "The  only  implement  of  hus- 
bandry used  by  them  is  the  hoe.  Of  these  implements 
they  were  so  destitute  before  our  arrival,  that  I  saw  sev- 
eral squaws  hoeing  their  corn  with  the  blade  bone  of  a 
buffalo,  ingeniously  fixed  to  a  stick  for  that  purpose. ' ' 

Maximilian  (p.  276)  :  "At  present  the  women  use 
in  the  field  labors  a  broad  iron  hoe  with  a  crooked 
wooden  handle  which  they  obtain  from  the  merchants. 
Charbonneau  recollected  the  time  when  they  used  the 
shoulder  blade  of  the  buffalo." 

Henry  (p.  343)  :  "I  set  off  early  on  horseback  with 
part  of  my  people  for  the  upper  villages.  We  passed 
extensive  fields  of  corn,  beans,  squashes,  and  sunflowers. 
Many  women  and  children  were  already  employed  in 
clearing  and  hoeing  their  plantations.  These  hoes  Avere 
the  shoulder  blade  of  the  buffalo  to  which  is  fastened  a 
crooked  stick  for  a  handle ;  the  soil  not  being  stony,  this 
slight  implement  answers  every  purpose." 

Matthews  (p.  19)  :  "For  cleaning  the  village  grounds 
they  had  rakes,  made  of  a  few  oziers  tied  together,  the 


90  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ends  curved  and  spreading.  Their  most  important  agri- 
cultural implement  was  the  hoe;  before  they  obtained 
iron  utensils  of  the  white  traders,  their  only  hoes  were 
made  of  the  shoulder  blades  of  elk  or  buffalo  attached 
to  wooden  handles  of  suitable  length.  Maximilian  in 
1833  considered  the  bone  hoe  as  a  thing  of  the  past  only, 
yet  as  late  as  1867  I  saw  a  great  number  in  use  at  Ft. 
Berthold  and  purchased  two  or  three,  one  of  which  was 
sent  to  Washington." 

DeSmet  (p.  830)  :  "All  their  farm  implements  are  a 
few  mattocks  and  poor  spades  with  crooked  or  pointed 
sticks  and  shoulder-blades  of  buffalos."  (P.  885)  : 
".  .  .  with  no  tools  but  sharpened  sticks  with  a  few 
spades  and  mattocks."  (P.  974,  of  the  Pawnees): 
".  .  .  using  the  shoulder-blade  of  the  buffalo  as  a 
substitute  for  the  plow  and  hoe." 

Catlin  (v.  i,  p.  137)  :  ".  .  .  this  is  all  done  by  the 
women  who  make  their  hoes  of  the  shoulder  blade  of  the 
buffalo  and  the  elk,  and  dig  the  ground  over  instead  of 
plowing  it,  which  is  consequently  done  with  a  vast  deal 
of  labor." 

Of  the  Cheyenne  method  of  planting,  Mr.  Grinnell 
states:  "The  corn  was  planted  in  quincunxes,  four 
grains  at  the  corners  of  the  square,  and  one  in  the  mid- 
dle; and  the  grains  were  put  in  the  ground  with  the 
soft  end  up.  In  the  occasional  plantings  which  have 
taken  place  since  1850,  old  women  and  old  men  have  been 
observed  to  carry  water  from  the  stream  to  water  the 
hills  of  corn.  It  is  said  that  some  of  the  hoes  they  used 
were  made  of  stone.  Sometimes  these  stones  were  chipped 
to  a  proper  flat  shape,  but  stones  naturally  of  the  right 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  91 

form  were  often  found  and  were  lashed  to  a  stick  for 
use.  Many  hoes  were  also  made  of  the  shoulder  bones 
of  the  buffalo  or  elk." 

2.     Hoeing  and  weeding 

All  of  the  tribes  of  the  Missouri  Valley  south  of  the 
Arikaras,  including  the  Ponkas,  Omahas,  Pawnees,  Otoes, 
Missouris,  lowas,  Kansa,  and  Osages,  always  abandoned 
their  villages  and  fields  late  in  June  or  early  in  July 
and  went  out  into  the  Plains  on  their  summer  buffalo 
hunt.  They  usually  gave  the  corn  two  hoeings  and 
weeded  it  thoroughly  by  hand  before  going  on  the  hunt ; 
but  occasionally  when  the  crops  were  backward  the  tribe 
left  after  the  first  hoeing. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  tribes  living  above  the  Ponkas : 
the  Arikaras,  Mandans,  and  Hidatsas,  usually  remained 
near  or  in  their  permanent  villages  during  the  entire 
summer.13 

Maximilian,  p.  368  (Hidatsas)  :  "At  present  the 
Minitaries  live  constantly  in  their  villages,  and  do  not 

is  Major  Marston,  writing  in  1820,  gives  a  very  interesting  ac- 
count of  Sac  and  Fox  agricultural  methods.  These  tribes  were 
considered  the  best  farmers  of  the  whole  Upper  Mississippi  re- 
gion. They  planted  about  300  acres  and  grew  about  8,000  bush- 
els of  corn  each  year,  1,000  bushels  of  which  they  sold  to  the 
white  traders  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  women  did  most  of  the 
work  with  rude  hoes.  In  spring  and  summer  the  men  were  away, 
but  the  women,  children,  and  old  men  remained  at  the  village, 
caring  for  the  crops  and  making  bark  bags  in  which  to  store  the 
crops.  In  fall  most  of  the  crop  was  buried  in  these  bags,  for 
use  in  the  following  spring  and  summer,  but  each  family  took 
five  bushels  of  corn  on  the  fall  hunt.  Blair,  Indian  Tribes  of  the 
Upper  Mis&issippi,  v.  ii,  p.  152. 


92  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

roam  about  as  they  formerly  did,  when,  like  the  Pawnees 
and  other  nations,  they  went  in  pursuit  of  the  herds  of 
buffalo,  as  soon  as  their  fields  were  sown,  returned  in 
the  autumn  for  the  harvest,  after  which  they  again  went 
in  the  prairie." 

From  all  accounts  it  appears  that  the  Mandans  were 
the  most  faithful  cultivators  of  any  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri tribes.  They  were  the  most  sedentary,  and  not 
only  is  there  no  record  of  the  whole  tribe  ever  abandon- 
ing the  villages  and  fields  to  go  on  summer  hunts,  but  it 
was  a  very  uncommon  thing  for  even  a  large  party  to 
forsake  their  crops  for  any  considerable  time.  The  Ari- 
karas  were  also  excellent  cultivators  on  occasion,  but 
they  frequently  took  a  season  off  to  go  on  a  long  summer 
hunt,  and  they  very  often  abandoned  their  old  villages 
to  seek  a  new  location. 

In  the  largest  gardens  of  the  Mandans  the  hoeing 
started  immediately  after  the  planting  was  finished  in 
June  and  was  kept  up  continuously  until  late  in  the 
summer.  This  usually  gave  time  to  hoe  the  whole  gar- 
den through  twice.  The  hoeing  was  mixed  in  with  the 
other  labors  of  the  day.  The  women  usually  got  up 
with  the  sun,  3  or  4  o'clock  A.M.,  and  went  immediately 
to  the  gardens. 

Henry,  p.  327  :  ' '  The  young  men  employ  the  night  in 
addressing  love  songs  to  their  mistresses,  who  either 
come  out  of  the  huts  immediately,  or  wait  till  daybreak, 
when  they  repair  to  the  corn  fields,  and  are  soon  fol- 
lowed by  the  young  men. ' ' 

They  usually  worked  in  the  gardens  until  the  sun  was 
well  up  and  its  heat  began  to  be  felt,  when  they  returned 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  93 

to  the  lodges  and  went  about  their  regular  household 
duties.  Later,  any  spare  time  of  sufficient  length  was 
also  devoted  to  the  hoeing,  especially  toward  the  close 
of  the  afternoon.  Let  it  not  be  thought  that  this  work 
was  mere  drudgery.  Every  woman  had  the  company 
of  some  of  the  young  girls,  and  the  gardens  were  close 
enough  together  to  permit  of  friendly  intercourse.  The 
women  usually  sang  as  they  worked,  and  there  are  pre- 
served great  numbers  of  field-songs  which  were  sung  only 
in  the  gardens.  Some  of  the  young  men  were  sure  to 
be  attracted  by  the  presence  of  the  maidens  and  usually 
hung  about  while  the  women  worked.  In  unfavorable 
locations  there  was  of  course  danger  from  prowling  war 
parties,  and  it  was  often  considered  necessary  to  have 
an  armed  guard  in  the  vicinity.  This  however  seemed 
to  detract  in  no  way  from  the  pleasure  of  the  girls." 

LaRaye's  Journal,  p.  238:  "The  village  (Hidatsa) 
is  often  visited  by  their  most  terrible  enemy,  that  is  the 
Sioux,  who  generally  succeed  to  kill  some  of  the  in- 
habitants, especially  the  woman  who  is  working  in  her 
corn  field,  for  every  family  has  a  small  patch  under 
cultivation.  The  work  is  done  by  the  squaws." 

Henry  speaks  of  the  danger  from  hostile  war  parties 
and  the  method  of  guarding  against  it  (p.  324)  :  "We 
soon  met  a  Mandan,  well  armed,  with  his  gun,  etc.,  he 
accompanied  a  party  of  women  hoeing  corn,  and  served 
as  their  guard.  .  .  "We  saw  many  women  and  chil- 
dren at  work  in  the  corn  field."  And  p.  403:  "Even 
when  they  go  out  to  hoe  their  corn,  young  men  well 
armed,  keep  on  the  rounds  at  short  distances  from  the 
women  to  prevent  surprise  from  an  enemy.  This  is  a 


94  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

necessary  precaution,  as  they  have  frequently  been  at- 
tacked while  working  in  their  fields." 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  when  the  ears 
were  beginning  to  form,  a  garden  was  very  seldom  unoc- 
cupied during  the  day-time.  The  blackbirds  and  crows 
were  very  numerous  about  the  villages  and  some  one 
had  to  be  always  near  to  drive  them  away.  For  the 
convenience  of  the  watchers  there  was  usually  a  brush 
shelter  of  some  sort,  or  a  scaffold  built  under  the  shade  of 
one  of  the  large  trees,  one  or  two  of  which,  as  we  have 
said,  were  always  left  standing  when  the  land  was  first 
cleared.  Here  some  of  the  young  girls  were  stationed, 
singing,  gossiping,  and  working  at  some  sort  of  sewing; 
or  perhaps  the  mother  and  her  daughters  brought  out 
their  lunch  and  spent  the  day  there.  If  a  woman  was 
childless  it  was  permissable  for  her  to  be  accompanied 
to  the  field  by  her  husband,  and  they  had  their  lunch 
and  spent  the  day  together  in  the  garden. 

Of  the  tribes  farther  south,  in  Nebraska,  we  have  less 
detailed  information;  but  Dunbar  mentions  the  same 
kind  of  platforms  in  the  Pawnee  corn  patches,  upon 
which  watchers  were  stationed  to  frighten  away  the 
birds. 

"We  have  numerous  accounts  of  the  hoeing  and  de- 
scriptions of  the  bands  of  women  working  in  the  fields. 

Henry,  p.  345  (between  the  first  and  second  Hidatsa 
villages)  :  "Here  the  road  is  again  very  pleasant,  run- 
ning through  an  open,  level  country,  with  corn  fields  in 
sight,  in  which  were  numbers  of  people  at  work/' 

Henry,  p.  359  (Mandans)  :  "The  morning  was  calm 
and  serene ;  the  natives  were  passing  continually  to  and 


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OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  97 

fro  between  the  villages;  others  again  were  at  work  in 
their  fields;  and  great  numbers  of  horses  dispersed  in 
every  direction  served  to  enliven  the  scene."  And  p. 
344:  "In  these  fields  were  many  women  and  children 
at  work,  who  all  appeared  industrious." 

Boiler,  p.  48 :  "  Day  after  day  until  it  was  gathered 
in,  the  corn  must  be  regularly  hoed,  more  to  counteract 
the  effect  of  drought  than  to  keep  down  weeds,  for  in 
these  dry  and  elevated  plains  rain  seldom  falls  after  the 
spring  is  passed.  All  these  duties  devolve  upon  the 
women. ' ' 

Chittenden,  p.  807 :  " .  .  .  The  corn  was  hoed  two 
or  three  times  during  the  season,  pains  being  taken  to 
bank  the  earth  against  the  hills  for  the  better  retention 
of  moisture." 

DeSmet,  p.  250  (Arikaras)  :  "I  was  surprised  to  find 
around  their  dwellings  fair  fields  of  maize,  cultivated 
with  the  greatest  care." 

Of  the  return  to  old  fields  after  a  lapse  of  time  Boiler 
gives  us  an  instance  (p.  324)  :  "The  Mandans  began 
to  agitate  the  question  of  returning  to  their  old  village 
close  by  the  Rees  to  plant  corn  in  the  same  field  as  they 
tilled  years  ago  when  their  nation  was  strong  and  pow- 
erful. ' '  Matthews  will  be  quoted  on  this  subject  farther 
on. 

3.     The  patches,  acreage,  and  yields 

Now  that  the  planting  and  cultivation  of  the  crops 
have  been  described,  a  more  detailed  view  of  the  patches 
may  be  taken. 

Of  the  patches  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Ari- 
karas, around  Fort  Berthold,  Matthews  gives  a  very 
good  description : 


98  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

"From  the  base  of  the  prairie  terrace,  described  in 
Sec.  2,  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Missouri  extend  to  the 
east  and  to  the  west  up  and  down  the  river.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  the  village  they  are  covered  partly  with 
forest  trees,  willows,  and  low  brush  but  chiefly  with  the 
little  fields  or  gardens  of  these  tribes. 

"Five  years  ago  all  the  land  cultivated  around  the 
village  consisted  of  little  patches,  irregular  in  form  and 
of  various  sizes,  which  were  cleared  out  among  the  wil- 
lows. The  patches  were  sometimes  separated  from  one 
another  by  trifling  willow  fences,  but  the  boundaries  were 
more  commonly  made  by  leaving  the  weeds  and  willows 
uncut,  or  small  strips  of  ground  uncultivated  between  the 
fields.  Every  woman  in  the  village  capable  of  working 
had  her  own  piece  of  ground  which  she  cultivated  with 
the  hoe,  but  some  of  the  more  enterprising  paid  the  trad- 
ers in  buffalo  robes  to  plow  their  land.  Their  system 
of  tillage  was  rude,  they  knew  nothing  of  the  value  of 
manuring  their  soil,  changing  the  seed  or  alternating  the 
crops.  Perhaps  they  had  little  need  of  such  knowledge, 
for  when  the  soil  was  worn  out  they  abandoned  it,  and 
there  was  no  stint  of  land  in  the  wilderness.  Sometimes 
after  a  few  years  of  rest  they  would  resume  the  cultiva- 
tion of  an  old  field  that  was  quite  near  the  village,  for 
proximity  lent  some  value  to  the  land ;  but  they  had  no 
regular  system  of  fallowing.  They  often  planted  a 
dozen  grains  of  corn  to  the  hill  and  did  not  hoe  very 
thoroughly.  Within  the  last  few  years  there  has  been 
an  improvement  in  their  farming;  the  bottom  to  the 
west  of  the  village  is  still  divided  up  and  cultivated  in 
the  old  way,  but  the  bottom  to  the  east  and  a  part  of 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  99 

the  upland  have  been  broken  up  by  the  Indian  Agency, 
fenced  and  converted  into  a  large  field.  A  portion  of 
this  field  is  cultivated  (chiefly  by  hired  Indians)  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Agency,  and  the  rest  has  been  divided  into 
small  tracts,  each  to  be  cultivated  by  a  separate  family 
for  its  own  benefit.  Potatoes,  turnips,  and  other  vege- 
tables have  been  introduced.  The  men  apply  them- 
selves willingly  to  the  labors  of  the  field"  (p.  11). 

As  a  gauge  of  measurement  the  Mandan  Indians  had 
the  nupka  or  Indian  acre.  This  was  a  somewhat  in- 
definite measurement,  consisting  as  nearly  as  could  be 
discovered  of  seven  rows  of  corn  with  rows  of  beans 
between  each  two  rows  of  corn,  and  with  no  fixed  length, 
that  feature  depending  entirely  upon  circumstances.  By 
much  questioning  and  comparison  it  would  appear  that 
the  average  nupka  was  about  equal  to  a  quarter  of  an 
acre.  The  squashes  were  planted  in  little  separate 
patches  of  which  no  account  was  taken  in  the  land  meas- 
urement and  the  sunflowers  always  went  around  the  out- 
side edge  of  the  whole  garden. 

The  gardens  were  usually  added  to  year  by  year  until 
they  reached  the  maximum  workable  size.  Each  ma- 
ture woman  in  the  family  usually  had  her  own  separate 
garden  where  she  was  helped  in  her  work  by  her  daugh- 
ters. The  smallest  garden  occupied  about  three  or  four 
nupkas  and  the  largest  about  nine  or  ten,  or  two  and 
one-half  to  three  acres  —  quite  a  respectable  field  to  till 
with  the  rude  implements  they  had  at  hand. 

Maximilian  says  (p.  276)  :  ".  .  .  each  family 
prepares  3,  4,  or  5  acres." 

In  a  family  with  two  or  three  wives  it  is  quite  prob- 


100  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

able  that  some  four  or  five  acres  would  be  under  culti- 
vation, which  would  yield  no  mean  amount  of  produce 
in  a  good  year;  and  when  we  remember  that  each  fam- 
ily had  at  least  one  and  frequently  two  or  more  women 
gardeners,  it  is  evident  that  there  must  have  been  quite 
an  acreage  of  tilled  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  each 
village.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  accounts  of  early 
travelers.  Often  there  was  not  sufficient  available  land 
near  the  village  and  part  of  the  gardens  were  some  dis- 
tance away  in  the  Missouri  River  bottoms.  The  Otoes, 
Missouris,  and  Pawnees,  who  lived  on  the  Platte  and 
its  forks,  had  less  land  suitable  for  tilling  by  Indian 
methods,  and  their  little  patches  were  scattered  along 
the  small  creek  bottoms  for  miles  around  the  villages. 
Irving  (1833)  states  that  some  of  the  Grand  Pawnee 
corn-patches  were  eight  miles  from  the  village,  and  that 
the  women  took  great  risks  in  going  out  to  work  in  these 
distant  fields.  In  fact,  it  was  one  of  the  commonest 
events  of  Pawnee  life  for  women  to  be  killed  in  their 
gardens  by  lurking  Sioux  or  other  enemies.  Their  bod- 
ies were  sometimes  not  found  for  weeks  afterward. 

Long's  Expedition,  1820  (v.  ii,  p.  216)  :  "The  three 
Pawnee  villages,  with  their  pasture  grounds  and  insig- 
nificant enclosures,  occupy  about  ten  miles  in  length  of 
the  fertile  valley  of  the  Wolf  River.  The  surface  is 
wholly  naked  of  timber,  rising  gradually  to  the  river 
hills,  which  are  broad  and  low,  and  from  a  mile  to  a 
mile  and  a  half  distant.  The  soil  of  this  valley  is  deep 
and  of  inexhaustible  fertility.  .  .  They  plant  corn 
and  pumpkins  along  the  sides  of  deep  ravines,  and  wher- 
ever by  any  accident  the  grassy  turf  has  been  eradi- 
cated." 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOUEI  101 

Brackenridge,  p.  116,  says  of  the  Arikara:  ''Around 
the  village  there  are  little  plats  enclosed  by  stakes  en- 
twined with  osiers,  in  which  they  cultivate  maize,  to- 
bacco, and  beans;  but  their  principal  field  is  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  from  the  village  to  which  such  of  the 
females,  whose  duty  it  is  to  attend  to  their  culture,  go 
and  return  morning  and  evening." 

In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the  areas  planted  about 
the  different  villages,  the  following  extracts  are  given: 

Catlin,  p.  224  (Arikara)  :  ".  .  .  and  we  trudged 
back  to  the  little  village  of  earth  covered  lodges,  which 
were  hemmed  in,  and  almost  obscured  to  the  eye,  by  the 
fields  of  corn  and  luxuriant  growth  of  wild  [  ?]  sunflow- 
ers, and  other  vegetable  productions  of  the  soil.  .  ." 

Lewis  and  Clark,  p.  158  (Arikara  island  village)  : 
"The  island  itself  is  three  miles  long,  and  covered  with 
fields  in  which  the  Indians  raise  corn,  beans,  and  pota- 
toes." 

Catlin,  p.  210  (Hidatsas)  :  "The  principal  village  of 
the  Minitarees,  which  is  built  upon  the  bank  of  Knife 
River,  contains  40  or  50  earth  covered  wigwams,  from 
40  to  50  feet  in  diameter,  and  being  elevated  overlooks 
the  other  two,  which  are  on  lower  ground  and  almost 
lost  amidst  their  numerous  corn  fields." 

Henry,  p.  323  (Mandans,  etc.)  :  "Having  got  through 
this  wood,  we  came  to  the  several  plantations  of  corn, 
beans,  squashes,  and  sunflowers." 

Maximilian,  p.  20  (Mandans)  :  "We  proceeded  up 
the  Missouri  in  a  direction  parallel  with  the  river,  leav- 
ing Mih  Tutta  Hangkush  (a  village)  on  our  right  hand, 
and  taking  the  way  to  Ruptare  (another  village),  which 
runs  along  the  edge  of  the  high  plateau  below  which 


102  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

there  is  a  valley  extending  to  the  Missouri,  covered  with 
the  maize  plantations  of  the  Mandans." 

We  have  already  quoted  from  Matthews,  Morgan, 
Hayden,  and  Dunbar,  and  each  speaks  of  the  fields  being 
often  enclosed  with  brush  fences.  Other  writers  state 
that  the  fields  were  not  fenced,  so  it  would  appear  that 
fencing  depended  on  the  location  of  the  fields  and  their 
accessibility  to  the  roving  bands  of  Indian  ponies  which 
had  free-run  of  the  country  for  miles  around  each  vil- 
lage. Scattered  Corn  says  that  they  usually  surrounded 
the  gardens  with  a  fence  of  brush,  as  did  also  the  men 
their  little  tobacco  gardens  which  were  always  separate 
from  the  women's  gardens. 

Boiler  also  mentions  fences :  ' '  The  snow  had  entirely 
disappeared,  except  in  a  few  sheltered  places  amongst 
the  hills,  and  the  Indian  women  were  gathering  willows 
to  repair  the  fence  around  their  corn  fields,  preparatory 
to  breaking  the  ground  for  the  coming  crop"  (p.  301). 
And  again:  "After  the  corn  is  planted  and  begins  to 
come  up,  slender  fences  of  willow  are  necessary  to  pre- 
vent the  horses  from  destroying  the  slender  blades. 
These  willows  have  to  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  the 
women  a  long  distance,  a  few  at  a  time,  until  a  sufficient 
quantity  for  the  purpose  is  collected"  (p.  118). 

Hayden  (p.  352)  :  "These  Indians  (Arikaras)  cul- 
tivate small  patches  of  land  on  the  Missouri  bottom,  each 
family  tilling  from  one-half  to  one  and  one-half  acres, 
which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  rude  brush  and 
pole  fences."  Morgan,  in  Beach's  Indian  Miscellany, 
p.  565,  mentions  that  the  Hidatsas  surround  their  gar- 
den with  similar  fences  ' '  of  hedge  and  stakes. ' ' 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  103 

In  the  early  70 's  there  were  about  400  Mandans,  400 
Hidatsas,  and  1,500  Arikaras  at  Fort  Berthold.  In  1872 
the  agent  reports  that  these  Indians  cultivate  about  1,000 
acres,  more  than  ever  before.14  In  1878  the  agent  re- 
ports 1,292  people  (not  counting  108  Hidatsas  at  Fort 
Buford),  families  working  295,  acreage  800,  corn  15,000 
bushels,  wheat  none,  vegetables  3,913  bushels,  oats  and 
barley  960  bushels;  support  from  agriculture  15  per 
cent,  from  hunting,  10  per  cent,  from  the  government 
75  per  cent.  At  this  time  game  was  rapidly  disappear- 
ing.15 

Dunbar  states  that  before  the  government  began  to 
plow  the  lands  and  encourage  the  Indians  to  cultivate 
the  soil  on  a  larger  scale,  the  Pawnees  tilled  from  1  to  3 
acres  per  family,  the  average  being  nearer  to  1  than  to  3 
acres.  Their  little  patches  were  situated  on  the  creek 
bottoms,  sometimes  five  or  more  miles  from  the  villages, 

i*  In  the  early  70 's  the  Indian  Office  issued  instructions  to  its 
agents  to  ' '  favor ' '  the  families  of  Indian  men  who  could  be 
induced  to  work.  Some  agents  issued  more  supplies  to  the  men 
who  worked,  while  others  went  farther  and  cut  off  all  supplies 
from  the  men  who  refused  to  engage  in  agriculture.  This  policy 
resulted  in  a  large  increase  in  the  acreage  planted  by  some  of  the 
tribes. 

15  Also  at  this  time  the  Fort  Berthold  Indiana  (Mandans,  Ari- 
karas, and  Hidatsas)  had  reached  about  their  lowest  mark  in 
physical  and  moral  degeneration,  due  largely  to  being  crowded 
together  in  the  village  with  no  incentive  to  hunt  and  with  a 
large  number  of  the  most  vicious  white  men  among  them.  A 
few  years  later  the  government  compelled  the  breaking  up  of 
the  old  village  and  established  each  family  on  its  own  piece  of 
land. 


104  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

and  were  often  surrounded  by  rude  fences  of  interwoven 
bushes  and  tree  branches. 

In  1857,  before  the  government  began  to  plow  their 
lands  for  them,  the  Pawnees  had  about  3,200  people  and 
planted  500  acres  of  corn  (agent's  report  for  1857). 
The  report  for  1867  states  that  this  tribe  has  about  1,000 
acres  in  cultivation,  mostly  in  corn,  with  squashes  and 
beans  in  small  patches  here  and  there.  In  1878  the 
Pawnees  had  1,292  people  on  their  reservation  in  Ne- 
braska; besides  working  1,000  acres  of  agency  land  for 
the  government,  the  Indians  cultivated  in  small  patches 
960  acres  of  corn  and  secured  8,000  bushels  (a  poor 
crop).  They  also  had  about  50  acres  in  squashes,  beans, 
or  vegetables.  Support  from  agriculture  30%,  from 
hunting  10%,  from  the  government  60%. 

The  Ponkas,  never  much  inclined  to  till  the  soil,  ap- 
pear to  have  given  up  agriculture  altogether  for  some 
years  during  the  early  60 's.  In  September,  1864,  after 
a  successful  hunt,  they  went  to  the  Omaha  village  to 
trade  buffalo  meat  for  corn  (report  of  the  agent  for  the 
Omaha  tribe,  1864).  In  1867  the  Ponkas  were  moved 
to  a  new  agency  on  the  Niobrara  and  took  up  agricul- 
ture again.  The  report  for  this  year  states  that  there 
were  980  people,  that  500  to  600  acres  were  in  cultiva- 
tion, and  that  an  abundant  crop  of  13,000  bushels  of 
corn  and  a  large  quantity  of  vegetables  were  raised. 
The  report  for  1874  gives  the  number  of  Ponkas  as  730; 
acres  cultivated  by  Indians  300;  crops  very  poor.  In 
1877  this  little  tribe  was  removed  to  Indian  Territory, 
where  they  at  once  succumbed  to  the  chills  and  fever 
which  always  attacked  northern  Indians  in  that  climate. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  105 

After  a  bitter  struggle,  during  which,  to  their  lasting 
credit,  the  whites  of  Nebraska  took  the  part  of  these 
Nebraska  Indians,  the  government  was  compelled  to  per- 
mit the  Ponkas  to  return  to  their  old  home  on  the  Nio- 
brara.16  Meantime,  in  the  Indian  Territory,  the  tribe 
had  again  given  up  agriculture  for  some  years. 

The  government  began  to  encourage  agriculture  among 
the  Omahas  early  in  the  60 's.  In  1867,  400  acres  were 
broken  and  planted,  besides  which  the  Indians  had  their 
own  small  patches,  as  to  the  extent  of  which  the  agent 
gives  no  figures.17  The  Omahas,  always  good  gardeners, 
took  up  the  new  work  very  willingly  and  made  surpris- 
ing progress.  In  1878  the  statistics  show  a  population 
of  1,100;  acreage  2,200;  wheat  21,000  bushels;  corn 
32,000  bushels;  vegetables  7,000  bushels;  other  crops 
1,000  bushels;  support  from  agriculture  95%,  from 
hunting  5%,  from  the  government,  none.  In  this  same 
year  the  Ponkas,  who  had  been  removed  to  the  Indian 
Territory  early  in  1877,  received  100%  support  from 
the  government. 

Of  the  Otoes,  their  agent  reports  in  1873  that  prior  to 
that  year  their  agriculture  was  still  on  a  very  primitive 
basis,  and  that  they  depended  mainly  on  the  hunt  for 
their  support.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that  this  tribe  had 
been  greatly  demoralized  through  the  government's 

18  Part  of  the  Ponkas  remained  of  their  own  choice  in  the  south, 
and  are  still  living  in  Oklahoma. 

17  The  Sac  and  Fox  agent  in  his  report  for  1864  states  that  the 
ground  cultivated  by  this  tribe  is  JL  in  corn  and  JL.  in  beans, 
squashes,  pumpkins,  and  other  vegetables.  As  far  as  may  be 
judged,  the  ratio  of  corn  to  vegetables  was  about  the  same  among 
the  other  tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri. 


106  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

practice  of  paying  annuities  in  money,  most  of  which 
the  Indians  spent  for  whiskey.  In  1857  the  Otoes  grew 
about  1,000  bushels  of  corn  in  small  patches  along  the 
bottomland,  in  the  bends  of  the  creeks.  They  also  grew 
a  large  quantity  of  beans  and  of  pumpkins  in  these 
patches.  The  report  for  1864  gives  us  a  good  idea  of 
the  agriculture  of  the  Otoes,  as  it  was  before  the  gov- 
ernment began  to  hire  white  men  to  plow  the  Indian 
lands.  According  to  this  report  there  were  about  500 
people  on  this  reservation  (Otoes  and  Missouris)  ;  and 
they  had  about  140  acres  of  corn  in  small  patches  on  the 
prairie  and  100  acres  more  of  corn,  beans,  squashes, 
pumpkins,  etc.,  in  small  patches  along  the  creek  bottoms. 
Both  the  corn  and  vegetable  patches  were  worked  with 
hoes.  The  agent  reports  in  1874  that  until  1873  the 
Otoes  and  Missouris  had  no  lands  fenced;  their  small 
patches  were  on  the  bottomlands  in  the  bends  of  the 
creeks,  and  some  more  on  the  prairie.  This  year  they 
had  in  their  own  small  patches:  200  acres  of  corn,  15 
acres  of  potatoes,  and  10  acres  of  beans.  By  1878  these 
little  tribes  were  gaining  75%  of  their  support  from 
agriculture  and  25%  from  the  government. 

Of  the  lowas  their  agent  reports  in  1859:  "This 
tribe  have  sixty-eight  fields  and  patches  (population 
431)  ;  the  greater  part  has  been  cultivated  this  year." 
There  were  about  600  acres  in  the  patches,  of  which 
about  500  were  planted  to  corn,  wheat,  potatoes,  beans, 
pumpkins,  and  vegetables.  The  men  refused  to  work. 
In  1864  there  were  293  lowas  on  the  Great  Nemaha 
Reserve,  in  southeastern  Nebraska ;  they  had  34  ' '  farms, ' ' 
289  acres  in  all;  this  land  was  plowed  by  the  agency 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  107 

fanner  but  planted  and  cultivated  by  the  Indians,  who 
raised  6,500  bushels  of  corn,  although  it  was  a  drought 
year.  Forty-one  of  the  78  Iowa  men  were  serving  in  the 
Union  army  at  this  time.  Their  agent  in  1867  reports 
the  "usual  acreage"  (about  400)  of  which  he  says  20 
acres  were  in  beans,  squashes,  pumpkins,  and  melons. 
In  1878  there  were  213  lowas,  cultivating  750  acres; 
crops,  corn  32,000  bushels,  vegetables  2,000  bushels;  sup- 
port from  agriculture  75%,  hunting  1%,  from  govern- 
ment 24%. 

The  Osage  agent  reports  in  1867  that  this  tribe  de- 
pends mainly  on  the  hunt  for  support ;  the  women  plant 
small  patches  of  corn  and  vegetables  and  hoe  them  over 
before  going  on  the  summer  buif alo-hunt ;  they  eat  most 
of  the  corn  "while  soft,"  but  some  cache  part  of  it. 
The  report  for  1872  gives  some  interesting  figures  on 

this  tribe: 

Pop.  Acres 

Big  Hill's  Band         936  125 
Clammore's  Band        239  30 


Grand  Osages 


Big  Chief's  Band        698        None 


Black  Dog's  Band  511  25 

White  Hair's  Band  362  250 

Beaver's  Band  237  250 

Little  Osages  696  500 

Half-breed  Band  277  820 

Leaving  out  the  half-breeds,  we  have  3,679  people  and 
1,180  acres. 

Another  interesting  tribe  of  the  Lower  Missouri  re- 
gion, the  Kansa  or  Kaws,  like  their  close  kindred,  the 
Osages,  appear  to  have  taken  little  interest  in  agricul- 
ture as  lone-  as  buffalo  were  abundant.  In  1864  their 


108  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

population  is  reported  as  about  700  and  acreage  300, 
mainly  in  corn.  In  1867  they  had  300  acres  in  cultiva- 
tion and  raised  5,800  bushels  of  corn,  besides  vegetables. 
Population  658.  In  the  early  70 's  this  tribe  was  re- 
moved from  Kansas  to  the  Indian  Territory,  where  they 
joined  their  kinsmen,  the  Osages.  In  1878  they  had 
400  people,  cultivating  960  acres;  crops,  corn  8,000 
bushels,  vegetables  830  bushels;  support,  from  agricul- 
ture 75%,  from  hunting  25%,  from  government,  none. 

According  to  our  information,  the  Indians  of  the  Up- 
per Missouri,  while  their  agriculture  was  still  in  its  prim- 
itive state,  cultivated  from  y3  to  1  acre  for  each  person 
in  the  tribe;  the  tribes  more  engaged  in  hunting,  like 
the  Kansa  and  Osages,  cultivating  about  %  of  an  acre 
for  each  person  in  the  tribe,  while  the  tribes  that  de- 
pended less  on  the  hunt  cultivated  about  1  acre  to  each 
man,  woman,  and  child.  Taking  a  family  as  six  per- 
sons, we  would  have  for  the  backward  tribes  2  acres  per 
family,  and  for  the  advanced  tribes  6  acres  per  fam- 
ily. F.  A.  Michaux,  the  French  botanist,  states  that  in 
1802  the  American  settlers  along  the  Ohio  river,  using 
horses  to  plow  their  lands,  cultivated  only  8  to  10  acres 
per  family,  and  the  families  were  very  large  ones.  He 
attributes  the  small  acreage  planted  to  the  indolence  of 
the  people  and  the  attraction  of  the  hunt,  game  being 
very  abundant.  Several  other  early  travelers  bear  out 
Michaux 's  statements  as  to  the  very  small  acreage  plant- 
ed by  the  American  backwoodsmen,  who  depended  part- 
ly on  the  hunt  as  a  means  of  support.  We  have  similar 
accounts  of  the  French  who  settled  on  the  Missouri 
River  above  St.  Louis  after  the  year  1765.  If  we  go 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  109 

farther  back,  we  find  that  the  Celtic  and  Anglo-Saxon 
farmers  of  England,  although  they  used  oxen  and  plows 
in  their  work,  did  not  cultivate  much  more  ground  than 
did  the  Indian  women  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  some- 
times even  less.  Thus  in  one  manor  near  Peterborough 
(twelfth  century)  there  were  49  men,  20  "full  villeins" 
and  29  "half  villeins,"  with  16  plows;  and  this  manor 
had  only  68  acres  in  all  under  the  plow.18  The  old  acre 
of  Celtic  Wales  was  called  the  Erw  and  was  3,413  square 
yards.  Four  Erws  formed  a  Tyddyn  ("man's  house" 
or  homestead),  each  little  farm  therefore  being  less  than 
three  modern  acres.19 


is  Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History,  v.  i,  English  Man- 
ors. 

!9  Skene,  Celtic  Scotland  or  Ancient  Allan,  v.  iii,  p.  22. 


HI  — HARVEST 

1.     THE  RETURN   FROM   THE  SUMMER  HUNT.     2.     THE 

GREEN-CORN  HARVEST.     3.     THE  RIPE-CORN  HARVEST. 

4.     STORING  THE  CROP.     5.    YIELDS 

1.     The  return  from  the  summer-hunt 

It  was  the  custom  of  most  of  the  agricultural  tribes  of 
the  Missouri  River  country  to  abandon  their  villages  and 
crops,  as  soon  as  the  patches  had  been  given  one  or  two 
hoeings,  and  to  go  on  the  summer  buffalo  hunt.  We 
know  that  the  Hidatsas  and  Arikaras  went  on  extended 
summer  hunts  in  early  days;  but  by  the  year  1815, 
weakened  by  smallpox  and  hemmed  in  by  the  Sioux, 
they  were  compelled  to  give  up  these  tribal  hunts  as  a 
regular  practice.  Now  and  then  when  the  Sioux  were 
busy  elsewhere  or  a  brief  truce  was  made,  these  tribes 
were  free  to  hunt  at  a  distance  from  their  villages ;  but 
such  occasions  were  rare  in  later  times.  The  Ponkas, 
Omahas,  Pawnees,  Otoes,  Missouris,  Kansa,  and  Osages 
continued  to  go  on  the  summer  hunt  each  year  until  the 
buffalo  were  destroyed  in  the  70 's.  The  women  usually 
gave  the  •  patches  two  hoeings  before  the  tribe  started 
on  the  hunt,  but  sometimes  when  the  season  was  late 
the  corn  was  only  hoed  once. 

Dunbar  states  that  the  Pawnees  usually  set  out  on 
the  summer  hunt  in  the  end  of  June ;  but  in  later  years, 
after  1860,  owing  perhaps  to  the  growing  hostility  of  the 
Sioux  and  the  scarcity  of  buffalo,  this  tribe  often  re- 


MANDAN  SOFT  RED  CORN 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  113 

mained  at  their  villages  until  the  middle  of  July.  In 
1867  they  set  out  on  the  hunt  July  19th. 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche  (Omahas)  :  "When  the 
crops  were  well  advanced  and  the  corn,  beans,  and 
melons  had  been  cultivated  for  the  second  time,  the  sea- 
son was  at  hand  for  the  tribe  to  start  on  its  annual  buf- 
falo hunt.  Preparations  for  this  great  event  occupied 
several  weeks,  as  everyone  —  men,  women,  and  children 
—  moved  out  on  what  was  often  a  journey  of  several 
hundred  miles.  Only  the  very  old  and  the  sick  and  a 
few  who  stayed  to  care  for  and  protect  these,  remained 
in  the  otherwise  deserted  village.  All  articles  not  need- 
ed were  cached  and  the  entrance  to  these  receptacles 
concealed  for  fear  of  marauding  enemies.  The  earth 
lodges  were  left  empty,  and  tent  covers  and  poles  were 
taken  along,  as  during  the  hunt  these  portable  dwellings 
were  used  exclusively"  (p.  276). 

Dougherty,  in  Long's  Expedition,  1819,  states  that  in 
June  an  important  man  among  the  Omahas  would  call  a 
council  at  his  lodge  to  decide  whether  the  hunt  should 
be  made  toward  the  northwest,  along  the  Niobrara,  or 
southwest  along  the  upper  Loup  or  Platte.  This  coun- 
cil also  discussed  the  question  as  to  whether  there  was  a 
sufficiency  of  provisions  on  hand  to  justify  the  tribe  in 
remaining  at  the  village  long  enough  to  weed  the  corn.1 
After  the  council  had  broken  up,  criers  were  sent  through 
the  village  to  call  out  the  decision  of  the  chiefs  and  to 
announce  the  date  of  departure  on  the  hunt  (p.  292). 

1  In  several  of  these  early  accounts  of  Indian  agriculture  on 
the  Upper  Missouri,  the  second  hoeing  is  referred  to  as  "weed- 
ing the  corn."  The  hilling-up  of  the  corn  also  was  accomplished 
during  the  second  hoeing. 


114  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Occasionally  old  or  sick  persons  remained  at  the  vil- 
lage, but  usually  the  entire  tribe  went  on  the  hunt.  The 
deserted  village  was  often  plundered  by  hostile  war  par- 
ties, who  broke  into  the  caches  and  sometimes  damaged 
the  growing  crops.  The  Pawnee  caches  were  sometimes 
plundered  by  the  Omahas  and  often  by  the  Otoes,  re- 
turning famished  from  an  unsuccessful  hunt.  Pilfering 
from  the  caches  by  neighboring  tribes  was  usually  passed 
over  lightly,  as  the  Indians  believed  that  hungry  people 
had  a  right  to  take  food  wherever  found;  but  if  too 
many  caches  were  entered  or  articles  other  than  food 
taken,  the  injured  tribe  sometimes  attacked  the  guilty 
one  and  war  followed.  The  Pawnee  caches  were  most 
often  plundered  by  the  Otoes,  an  ungrateful  little  tribe 
that  lived  on  the  lower  Platte  under  the  protection  of 
the  strong  Pawnees.  Once  the  Otoes  set  fire  to  the 
Grand  Pawnee  lodges  while  that  tribe  was  on  a  hunt  and 
burned  the  village  to  the  ground.  Such  events,  how- 
ever, were  rare,  and  but  little  damage  was  usually  done 
to  the  deserted  villages,  and  still  less  to  the  growing 
crops,  as  the  small  patches  were  often  hidden  away  in 
the  bends  of  the  creeks  miles  from  the  village. 

The  summer  hunt  commonly  lasted  through  the  hot 
months  of  July  and  August,  the  tribe  returning  toward 
its  village  early  in  September.  As  the  time  for  harvest 
approached,  runners  were  often  sent  to  the  home-village, 
to  examine  the  crops  and  report  on  their  condition. 
Often  the  tribe  was  far  out  in  the  Plains,  or  enemies 
were  lurking  near  the  hunting-camp  and  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  send  runners  to  the  village.  On  such  occasions 
other  means  were  resorted  to.  Thus  Dunbar  informs  us 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  115 

that  the  Pawnees  could  determine  the  condition  of  their 
corn  by  examining  the  seed  pods  of  the  milk  weed,  and 
when  these  pods  had  reached  a  certain  state  of  maturity 
the  tribe  left  the  hunting-grounds  and  returned  home 
to  harvest  the  crops. 

Dougherty  states  that  the  Omahas  returned  toward 
their  village  in  August,  stopping  on  the  way  at  the 
Pawnee  villages,  to  trade  guns  for  horses,  and  reaching 
home  early  in  September. 

2.     The  green-corn  harvest 

Among  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  the  first 
garnering  of  the  harvest  started  early  in  August,  when 
the  young  squashes  were  gathered,  sliced,  and  dried.  At 
about  the  same  time  the  green  corn  season  arrived  and 
the  corn  harvest  began.  This  period  usually  lasted  from 
the  10th  to  the  15th  of  August,  but  was  sometimes  earlier. 
Among  most  of  the  tribes  the  beginning  of  the  green 
corn  season  was  solemnly  determined  and  announced  by 
some  of  the  more  prominent  of  the  older  women  or  by 
the  medicine-men.  The  elderly  women  were  very  expert 
in  determining  the  condition  of  the  corn  from  its  ap- 
pearance. Buffalo  Bird  Woman  (Hidatsa)  states  that 
the  women  knew  which  ears  were  right  for  plucking  by 
the  dry  brown  tassels,  the  dry  silks,  and  the  dark  green 
husks  —  they  did  not  have  to  open  the  ear  and  "look 
at  its  face "  to  see  that  it  was  in  good  green-corn  condi- 
tion, as  the  educated  Indian  girls  of  the  present  day 
have  to  do.  She  also  states  that  green  corn  was  plucked 
until  frost  fell,  after  which  the  corn  lost  its  fresh  taste; 
but  there  was  a  method  for  treating  the  frosted  ears  that 
restored  much  of  their  original  flavor. 


116 


The  elaborate  ceremonies  which  marked  the  opening 
of  the  green  corn  season  among  many  tribes  appear  to 
have  been  lacking  among  the  Upper  Missouri  Indians.2 
The  time,  however,  was  one  of  great  rejoicing  and  feast- 
ing, a  large  part  of  the  crop  being  consumed  during  these 
few  days.  As  Scattered  Corn  says,  they  ate  just  as  much 
as  they  could  during  the  time  when  the  corn  was  good. 

Not  only  was  this  a  season  of  feasting  and  joy,  but 
also  the  beginning  of  the  harvest  labors,  and  of  the  stor- 
ing of  the  winter  food.  The  two  things  went  on  side 
by  side,  as  there  was  always  corn  boiling  and  roasting 
and  all  were  free  to  help  themselves  from  the  ears  the 
women  were  preparing  to  dry. 

Catlin  (p.  212)  :  "The  green  corn  is  considered  a 
great  luxury  by  all  these  tribes.  .  .  It  is  ready  for 
eating  as  soon  as  the  ear  is  of  full  size,  and  the  kernels 
are  expanded  to  their  full  growth,  but  are  yet  soft  and 
pulpy.'1 

Catlin  (p.  137)  :  "The  green  corn  season  is  one  of 
great  festivity  among  them  and  one  of  much  importance. 
The  greater  part  of  their  crop  is  eaten  during  these 
festivals  and  the  remainder  is  gathered  and  dried  on  the 
cob  before  it  is  ripened."  This  is  an  over-statement  of 
the  case,  as  Scattered  Corn  says  that  where  a  family  had 
a  total  of  nine  to  twelve  nupkas,  some  two  to  three  nup- 
kas  were  used  up  for  the  feasting  and  the  preparation  of 
dried  green  corn  for  winter  use.  The  rest  of  the  crop 
was  permitted  to  mature. 

2  Clark,  in  the  Indian  Sign  Language,  states  that  the  Hidatsas 
had  a  green-corn  dance  or  ceremony,  but  he  is  evidently  in  error. 
The  Sioux  of  the  upper  Mississippi  had  such  a  ceremony,  which 
is  described  in  Schooleraft,  Journal  of  Travel,  1820,  p.  319. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  117 

Boiler  (p.  118)  :  "Fires  are  blazing  in  all  directions 
around  which  gather  merry  groups  to  feast  on  boiled  and 
roasted  ears. ' ' 

The  men  sometimes  helped  at  this  season,  but  their 
labors  were  not  very  arduous.  Bands  of  young  men 
went  from  one  field  to  another,  helping  to  pick  the  ears, 
but  distinguishing  themselves  more  at  the  feast,  which 
was  always  provided  for  them,  than  in  actual  work.  It 
was  in  the  nature  of  a  lark  for  them. 

This  green  corn  which  was  picked  while  in  the  milk 
and  still  soft  is  invariably  called  "sweet  corn"  by  the 
early  travelers,  fur-traders,  and  frontiermen.  It  really 
was  the  common  species  of  soft  field-corn,  known  as 
flour  corn  or  starch  corn.  The  Upper  Missouri  Indians 
rarely  picked  the  true  sweet  corn  (sugar  corn)  while 
green,  but  permitted  it  to  ripen.  The  Mandans,  Hidat- 
sas,  and  Arikaras  used  the  sugar  corn  almost  exclu- 
sively for  the  making  of  corn  balls.  The  tribes  farther 
south,  in  Nebraska,  appear  to  have  used  the  sugar  corn 
both  when  green  and  when  ripe  in  later  years ;  how  they 
used  it  in  earlier  times  is  not  known,  but  as  they  planted 
the  corn  in  May  and  did  not  return  to  their  villages  un- 
til early  in  September,  the  sugar  corn  must  have  been 
ripe  and  hard  by  the  time  they  returned  from  their 
summer  hunt.  Ponka  sugar  corn  planted  at  Omaha, 
May  11,  1916,  was  in  green  corn  condition  about  August 
10  and  ripe  August  25. 

The  preparation  of  this  so-called  "sweet  corn"  has 
been  described  by  many  writers. 

Boiler  (p.  118)  :  "Each  family  reserves  a  number  of 
the  choicest  ears  to  make  sweet  corn  for  winter  use.  It 


118  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

is  first  parboiled,  the  grains  are  then  carefully  picked 
off  the  cob,  and  dried  in  the  sun  upon  a  piece  of  lodge 
skin,  prepared  thus  it  retains  all  its  juices  and  flavor  and 
will  keep  unimpaired  almost  any  length  of  time.  It  is 
then  put  away  in  skin  bags  and  carefully  hoarded  for 
use  on  special  occasions  or  in  time  of  scarcity." 

Hay  den  (p.  352)  :  "When  green,  a  portion  is  gath- 
ered, partially  boiled,  after  which  it  is  dried,  shelled  and 
laid  aside.  This  is  called  sweet  corn,  and  is  preserved 
any  length  of  time,  and  when  well  boiled  it  differs  very 
little  from  green  corn  fresh  from  the  stalk." 

Report  of  the  Indian  agent  at  Fort  Berthold,  1878,  p. 
32  (Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras)  :  "They  roast 
great  quantities  of  green  corn  for  winter  use  by  making 
a  long,  flat  pile  of  brush,  covering  it  with  the  corn  in 
the  husk,  and  then  burning  away  the  brush.  When 
thoroughly  cooked,  the  burnt  husks  are  removed,  the 
corn  shelled  and  dried  and  put  away.  They  also  dry 
the  squashes  for  winter  food." 

The  Upper  Missouri  tribes  prepared  this  "sweet 
corn"  for  winter  use  in  two  ways:  by  boiling  it  in  ket- 
tles, and  by  roasting  it  in  fires.  The  latter  method 
was  apparently  the  older  one,  and  was  probably  in  gen- 
eral use  among  the  tribes  before  large  metal  kettles 
were  procured  from  the  white  traders. 

According  to  Dunbar  the  Pawnees  returned  from 
their  summer  hunt  about  September  1,  and  at  once  be- 
gan to  roast  and  dry  the  corn  that  was  in  the  milk. 
From  morning  to  night  the  women  and  children  were  in 
the  patches,  gathering  fuel,  making  fires,  picking,  roast- 
ing, and  drying  corn.  This  was  called  the  roasting-ear 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  119 

time.  "In  one  direction  squaws  are  coming  in  stagger- 
ing under  immense  burdens  of  wood  and  leading  lines 
of  ponies  equally  heavily  loaded.  In  another  the  store 
of  wood  is  already  provided,  the  fires  brightly  burning, 
in  them  corn  roasting,  and  near  by  other  corn  drying, 
while  children  passing  busily  to  and  fro  are  bringing 
loads  of  corn  from  the  patch.  The  atmosphere  is  sat- 
urated with  the  pleasant  odor  of  the  roasting  and  drying 
corn. ' ' 

Continuing  his  account,  Dunbar  states  that  the  green 
corn,  still  in  the  husk,  was  thrown  upon  beds  of  glowing 
coals  and  left  to  roast.  The  husks  were  next  stripped 
from  the  roasted  ears  and  the  kernels  removed  from  the 
cobs.  Clam  shells  were  used  for  this  purpose.  The 
corn  after  being  removed  from  the  cob  was  spread  out 
on  skins  or  blankets  to  dry  in  the  sun,  after  which  it 
was  packed  in  rawhide  bags  and  stored  away  for  winter 
use.  "When  roasted  in  this  way,"  says  Mr.  Dunbar, 
"the  corn  seems  to  retain  a  fineness  of  flavor  which  is 
quite  lost  when  cooked  after  our  method. ' ' 3 

Dougherty  states  that  when  the  Omahas,  returning 
from  their  summer  hunt,  arrived  within  two  or  three 
days'  journey  of  their  village  they  dispatched  runners 
on  ahead  to  ascertain  the  safety  of  the  village  and  the 
condition  of  the  corn.  "On  the  return  of  the  nation, 
which  is  generally  early  in  September,  a  different  kind 
of  employment  awaits  the  ever-industrious  squaws.  The 
property  buried  in  the  earth  [i.e.,  cached]  is  to  be  taken 
up  and  arranged  in  the  lodges,  which  are  cleaned  out  and 
put  in  order.  The  weeds,  which  during  their  absence, 

s  Dunbar,  in  Magazine  of  American  History,  v.  iv,  p.  277. 


120  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

have  grown  up  in  every  direction  through  the  village, 
are  cut  down  and  removed. 

"A  sufficient  quantity  of  sweet  corn  is  next  to  be  pre- 
pared for  present  and  future  use.  Whilst  the  maize  is 
yet  in  the  milk  or  soft  state,  and  the  grains  have  nearly 
attained  to  their  full  size,  it  is  collected  and  boiled  on 
the  cob ;  but  the  poor  who  have  no  kettles,  place  the  ear, 
sufficiently  guarded  by  its  husk,  in  the  hot  embers  until 
properly  cooked;  the  maize  is  then  dried,  shelled  from 
the  cob,  again  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  afterward  packed 
away  for  keeping,  in  neat  leathern  sacks.  The  grain 
prepared  in  this  manner  has  a  shrivelled  appearance, 
and  a  sweet  taste,  whence  its  name.  It  may  be  boiled 
at  any  season  of  the  year  with  nearly  as  much  facility 
as  the  recent  grain  [i.e.,  fresh  green  corn],  and  has  much 
the  same  taste. ' ' 4 

Buffalo  Bird  Woman  states  that  the  Hidatsa  green 
corn  season  began  early  in  the  harvest  moon,  about  the 
second  week  of  August.  The  women  went  to  the  fields 
at  siinset  and  each  plucked  about  five  baskets  of  ears 
and  left  them  in  the  field  over  night,  to  keep  fresh.  In 
the  morning  the  corn  was  carried  to  the  lodge  and  was 
there  husked,  the  ears  being  laid  out  in  rows  on  the 
pile  of  fresh  husks.  They  were  next  dropped  into  a 
kettle  of  boiling  water,  a  few  at  a  time,  and  when  about 
half  cooked  were  taken  out  in  a  large  spoon  made  of 
Rocky  Mountain  sheep  horn.  These  cooked  ears  were 
laid  in  rows  on  the  floor  of  the  drying  stage  and  were 
left  over  night.  The  following  morning  a  lodge  cover 
was  spread  out,  and  sitting  on  this  the  woman  shelled 

*  Dougherty,  in  Long 's  Expedition,  Thwaites  edition,  v.  i,  p. 
302. 


Above :     CROSS  SECTION  OF  AN  EAR  OF  MODERN  24-ROW 

WHITE    DENT    AND    OF    AN    EAR    OF    10-ROW    MANDAN 
WHITE  FLOUR  CORN 

Below:  1.  PON K A  RED  FLOUR.  2.  PONKA  GRAY  FLOUR. 
3.  PONKA  RED  SPECKLED  FLOUR.  4.  PONKA  SWEET 
CORN 


OF  THE  UPPEE  MISSOURI  123 

the  corn  from  the  cobs,  using  a  mussel-shell  for  this  pur- 
pose. Skins  were  now  spread  on  the  floor  of  the  drying 
stage,  and  the  shelled  green  corn  was  spread  out  on  these 
skins  to  dry.  The  corn  was  permitted  to  dry  for  about 
four  days  and  was  then  sacked  and  cached.  She  also 
states  that  the  men  were  away  on  the  "harvest  hunt" 
during  the  early  green  corn  season,  but  returned  with 
their  meat  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  later  ripe-corn 
harvest. 

At  the  time  when  the  green  corn  season  began  in 
August  groups  of  young  girls  sat  all  day  long  on  the 
watching-platforms  in  the  center  of  the  corn  patches, 
guarding  the  corn.  At  this  season  the  crows  and  black- 
birds were  very  troublesome,  and  small  boys  lurked  in 
the  tall  weeds,  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  steal  the 
green  ears,  which  they  took  into  the  woods  and  roasted 
over  little  fires.5 

The  agent  for  the  Red  Cloud  Sioux  states  in  his  re- 
port for  1873  that  the  corn  of  the  Arikaras  is  in  roast- 
ing-ear  condition  six  weeks  from  planting. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  just  how  the  In- 
dians hit  upon  this  method  of  cooking  and  drying  a 
part  of  their  corn  while  still  green.  Featherstonehaugh 
gives  us  a  clue  when  he  states  that  the  tribes  of  the  up- 
per Mississippi  were  compelled  to  cure  a  large  part  of 
their  corn  in  this  manner  because  of  the  depredations  of 
blackbirds,  which  attacked  the  crop  in  huge  flocks  at  the 
time  when  the  corn  was  in  the  milk.6 


5  Buffalo  Bird  Woman 's  Story,  part  iii,  in   The  Farmer,  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  Dec.  16,  1916.     Same,  part  iv,  Dec.  23. 

6  Featherstonehaugh,  A   Canoe  Voyage  up  the  Minnay  Sotor, 
London,  1847.     Sehoolcraft,  Journal  of  Travel,  1820,  states  that 


124  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

3.     The  ripe-corn  Jiarvest 

The  green  corn  season  seldom  lasted  over  ten  days, 
after  which  there  was  a  lapse  of  time,  perhaps  two  to 
four  weeks,  before  the  actual  harvest,  of  the  ripe  crop, 
commenced.  The  harvest  time  was  perhaps  the  most 
important  season  of  the  year,  and  most  of  the  village  ac- 
tivities were  for  the  time  being  subordinated  to  the 
interest  of  getting  in  the  crop. 

The  Upper  Missouri  corn  was  usually  ripe  and  dry  in 
September,  though  the  actual  harvest  often  did  not  take 
place  until  early  in  October.  Maximilian  gives  the  ninth 
month,  September,  as  the  moon  of  ripe  maize.  He  says, 
however  (p.  276)  :  ''The  harvest  takes  place  in  Octo- 
ber when  men,  women,  and  children  all  lend  a  helping 
hand." 

Dougherty  states  that  the  Omahas  return  to  the  vil- 
lage early  in  September  to  harvest  their  green  corn  and 
ripe  corn,  and  that  after  the  final  harvest  they  leave  on 
their  fall  hunt  late  in  October.  Dunbar  gives  similar 
information  concerning  the  Pawnees  —  that  the  ripe 
corn  was  not  gathered  until  October  and  that  the  tribe 
set  out  on  its  fall  hunt  at  the  close  of  the  month.  The 
writers  who  give  August  and  September  as  the  harvest 
months  are  evidently  referring  to  the  green  corn  harvest. 

When  the  corn  was  ripe  all  of  the  workers  repaired 

in  the  last  days  of  July  the  corn  at  Fort  Snelling  at  the  mouth 
of  Minnesota  Biver  was  most  of  it  too  hard  for  eating  and  part 
of  it  hard  enough  for  seed.  He  also  states  that  the  Sioux  of 
Little  Crow's  village  farther  down  the  Mississippi  were  boiling 
green  corn  and  holding  their  green  corn  ceremonies  on  August 
2,  1820. 


BASKETS  OP  THE  MANDANS,  HIDATSAS,  AND  ARIKARAS 
The  large  ones  are  corn-carrying  baskets 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  127 

to  the  fields  with  large  carrying-baskets.7  They  went 
down  the  rows,  snapping  the  ears  and  throwing  them 
into  small  piles  at  regular  intervals.  When  the  time 
came  for  returning  to  the  village  the  ears  were  placed 
in  the  baskets  and  were  carried  and  piled  near  the  dry- 
ing platforms  in  front  of  the  lodges.  The  next  day  the 
women  gathered  at  the  piles  of  snapped  corn  and  the 
husking  began.  The  husks  were  stripped  back  and  the 
outside  one  removed,  leaving  the  inner  and  more  pliable 
ones  on  the  ear.  The  ears  were  then  laid  out  in  rows. 
The  nubbins  and  poor  ears  were  entirely  husked  and 
spread  out  to  dry  on  one  of  the  floors  of  the  drying  stage. 
Whenever  an  exceptionably  good  ear,  ripe,  and  hard, 
long,  straight-rowed,  and  of  good  color,  came  to  hand 
it  was  stuck  into  a  bag  reserved  for  the  seed  corn,  which 
was  later  plaited  into  separate  braids. 

After  the  ears  were  all  prepared  in  this  manner  they 
were  braided  into  strands.  There  was  a  standard  size 
for  these  braids,  the  length  being  from  knee  dlown 
around  the  foot  and  up  to  the  knee  again.  One  of  these 
braids  was  the  standard  measure  for  corn  on  the  ear; 
shelled  corn  was  measured  by  the  basket,  or  by  the  bull- 
boat  load.  Among  the  Hidatsas  the  standard  size  of 

7  Skidi  Pawnees:  "They  also  made  baskets,  which  served 
for  various  purposes;  those  used  for  the  transportation  of  the 
crops  from  the  fields  being  especially  well  made  and  of  unusual 
construction.  Such  baskets  are  in  use  to-day  among  the  Arikara 
and  Mandan."  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee,  p.  xviii. 

Arikaras:  "They  have  preserved  in  their  basketry  a  weave 
that  has  been  identified  with  one  practised  by  former  tribes  in 
Louisiana  —  a  probable  survival  of  the  method  learned  when 
with  their  kindred  in  the  far  Southwest."  Bulletin  30,  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  85. 


128  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

the  braids  of  corn  was  55  or  54  ears,  and  in  trading  with 
other  tribes  one  of  these  standard  braids  was  reckoned 
as  the  equivalent  of  one  tanned  buffalo  robe.8 

Buffalo  Bird  Woman  gives  a  very  interesting  account 
of  the  Hidatsa  ripe-corn  harvest.  She  says  that  the 
women  went  into  the  fields  and  snapped  the  ripe  ears, 
throwing  them  into  piles.  This  task  occupied  one  day, 
in  the  larger  fields  sometimes  two  days.  On  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  women  built  fires  near  the  piles  of 
corn  and  set  over  the  fires  kettles  containing  meat  and 
sweet  corn.  The  young  men  who  had  been  invited  to 
assist  at  the  husking  now  came  into  the  fields,  and  a 
few  of  the  older  men  usually  came  also.  The  girls  and 
young  men  wTore  their  best  clothes  and  were  all  painted. 
The  handsome  girls  always  had  a  large  group  of  these 
young  men  gathered  about  their  corn  piles. 

In  husking  the  corn,  any  unripe  ears  that  were  found 
were  laid  aside  and  became  the  property  of  the  young 
man  who  found  them,  and  he  either  ate  them  himself 
or  fed  them  to  his  pony.  If  placed  in  the  caches  these 
unripe  ears  rotted  and  spoiled  much  corn.  As  they  were 
husked,  the  ripe  ears  were  thrown  into  piles,  the  large 
ears  in  one  pile,  the  small  ones  in  another.  The  large 
ears  were  braided  in  the  field  by  the  women,  54  or  55 
ears  to  a  braid.  After  completing  a  braid  a  woman 
often  took  hold  of  it  by  both  ends,  placed  her  foot  on 
its  middle  and  gave  a  sharp  tug.  This  tightened  the 
braid  and  gave  it  a  neater  appearance.  The  braids  of 
corn  were  loaded  on  ponies,  about  ten  strings  making  a 

s  This  information  on  braided  corn  was  gained  during  recent 
visits  to  the  Mandans  and  Hidatsas. —  George  F.  Will. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  129 

load,  and  were  taken  to  the  village  and  hung  up  on  the 
rails  of  the  drying  stage.  The  small  ears  were  later 
carried  to  the  village  in  baskets  and  were  spread  out  on 
the  floor  of  the  drying  stage.  The  latter  task  occupied 
the  women  one  or  two  days. 

This  ripe-corn  harvest  last  about  ten  days.  The  young 
men  worked  well,  husking  out  the  corn  of  one  field  and 
then  passing  on  to  the  next. 

After  the  corn  was  all  braided  it  was  hung  about  the 
frame  of  the  drying  scaffold.  These  scaffolds  were  an 
important  feature  in  the  economy  of  the  village,  being 
used  for  drying  meat  as  well  as  corn  and  vegetables. 
In  summer  the  women  often  gathered  under  the  shade  of 
the  platform 's  arbor-like  roof  with  their  work ;  at  other 
seasons  the  firewood  was  piled  here,  and  in  winter  the 
arbor  was  often  turned  into  a  stable  for  the  horses. 
Dorsey  describes  the  Pawnee  arbor  or  drying  platform 
as  follows:  ''A  few  paces  to  the  east  of  the  lodge  was 
to  be  found  a  structure,  open  at  all  sides,  and  with  a 
flat  roof  of  cottonwood  boughs,  which  served  both  as  a 
shelter  during  the  summer  and  as  a  platform  upon 
which  could  be  dried  corn,  pumpkins,  etc. ' ' 9  Besides 
the  roof  of  branches,  the  arbor  had  a  floor  raised  two 
feet  or  more  above  the  ground,  upon  which  the  people 
sat  and  the  corn  was  spread  to  dry.  The  Mandan  scaf- 
fold had  the  floor  raised  five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  this  was  reached  by  means  of  a  ladder  cut  from  a 
log.  The  Arikara  dry-stage  had  a  number  of  long  poles 
placed  lengthwise  of  the  scaffold  with  willows  laid  across 
them,  but  the  Mandan  and  Hidatsa  stages  had  only  two 

9  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  STcidi  Pawnee,  p.  xvi. 


130 


long  beams  with  planks  laid  crosswise.  These  tribes 
build  two-section  and  three-section  stages.  Part  of  one 
of  these  stages  was  partitioned  off  with  tipi  skins  during 
threshing  time,  to  form  a  booth  in  which  the  corn  was 
pounded  out.  The  Hidatsas,  however,  never  threshed 
on  the  floor,  and  in  winnowing  they  did  not  pour  the 
grain  from  the  stage  floor  or  roof,  but  raised  it  high  in 
baskets  and  slowly  poured  it  out.10 

Many  of  the  Indians  of  today  erect  these  old-time 
stages  or  arbors  in  front  of  their  frame  houses. 

Boiler  (p.  118)  :  "When  the  harvest  is  gathered  in 
the  ears  of  corn  are  plaited  into  a  tress  (like  a  rope  of 
onions)  and  hung  upon  scaffolds  to  dry.  The  variegat- 
ed hues  of  the  often  tastefully  arranged  traces  hanging 
from  the  scaffolds  gives  the  village  a  gay  and  holiday 
appearance. ' ' 

Henry  (p.  340)  :  Mandans:  "Fronting  the  porch 
stands  a  stage  about  8  feet  high,  20  feet  long,  and  10 
feet  broad,  for  the  purpose  of  hanging  up  corn  to  dry 
in  the  fall  and  to  dry  meat.  These  stages  have  a  toler- 
ably good  flooring,  which  in  the  fall  is  covered  with 
beans  to  dry;  and  posts  are  erected  upon  them,  on  the 
tops  of  which  are  laid  poles  and  rafters,  to  which  corn 
and  sliced  squashes  "  are  suspended  in  tresses  to  dry. 
When  the  harvest  is  over  this  certainly  must  have  a  very 

10Hidatsa  informants  state  that  the  corn  was  always  husked 
in  the  field  and  never  taken  to  the  lodges  to  be  husked.  The 
men's  societies  went  out  in  bodies  to  help  with  the  husking;  they 
were  invited  by  the  field  owner  who  paid  them  with  a  feast. 

11  Large  quantities  of  pumpkins  and  squashes  were  dried  for 
winter  use: 

"The  pumpkins  are  cut  in  slips,  which  are  dried  in  the  sun, 


Above:     ARIKARA  WOMAN  THRESHING  CORN  ON  THE 

ROOF  OF  HER  HOUSE 

Below:     SCATTERED    CORN,   HER   HUSBAND,   HOLDING 
EAGLE,  AND  THEIR  FAMILY 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  133 

pretty  effect  and  give  quite  an  appearance  of  agricul- 
ture." 

After  the  corn  on  the  scaffolds  was  dry  came  the 
threshing.  The  braided  corn  was  usually  stored  as  it 
was,  in  strings,  while  the  poor  ears  which  were  dried 
on  the  platform  floor  were  threshed.  This  was  done  on 
the  floor  itself  or  upon  old  tipi  skins  spread  on  the 
ground.  The  corn  was  beaten  with  sticks  until  all  of 
the  grain  was  loosened  from  the  cobs;  the  cobs  were 
then  picked  out  and  the  grain  winnowed  by  letting  it 
fall  slowly  onto  a  skin  from  an  elevated  place,  either 
from  the  top  of  the  lodge  or  the  floor  of  the  scaffold. 

4.     Storing  the  crop 

When  the  drying  and  threshing  were  over  the  storing 
of  the  crop  commenced.  After  a  certain  amount  had 
been  stored  in  the  lodge  in  dressed  skin  bags  and  raw- 
hide parfleches,  the  remainder  of  the  harvest:  corn, 
beans,  squashes,  and  sunflower  seeds,  was  stored  in 
caches. 

The  caches  of  the  Mandans  are  described  by  Catlin 

and  afterward  woven  into  mats  for  the  convenience  of  carrying. ' ' 
Account  of  the  Pawnee  Loups,  in  Long's  Expedition,  v.  u,  p.  217. 

"The  pumpkins  they  cut  into  thin  slices  and  dry  in  the  sun, 
which  reduces  it  to  a  small  size  [bulk]  and  not  more  than  a  tenth 
of  its  original  weight."  Account  of  the  ^Republican  Pawnees,  in 
Pike's  Expeditions,  v.  ii,  p.  533. 

Dougherty  tells  us  that  the  Omahas  cut  their  pumpkins  and 
squashes  into  slices,  dried  them  and  wove  them  into  "networks  or 
loose  mats."  Some  of  the  tribes  wove  these  dried  vegetables 
into  strings  or  braids. 

The  Mandans  sliced  the  small  green  squashes  which  were  strung 
like  rings  on  a  string  of  braided  grass  or  a  leather  thong. 


134  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

as  jug-shaped.  They  were  6  to  8  feet  deep,  held  20  to 
30  bushels  and  had  narrow  mouths  just  wide  enough  for 
a  person  to  go  through.  One  for  the  storage  of  pro- 
visions for  immediate  use  was  inside  the  lodge,  back  of 
the  fireplace,  while  others  were  dug  outside,  near  the 
lodge. 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche  thus  describe  the  Omaha 
Caches:  "Near  each  dwelling,  generally  to  the  left  of 
the  entrance,  the  cache  was  built.  This  consisted  of  a 
hole  in  the  ground  about  8  feet  deep,  rounded  at  the 
bottom  and  sides,  provided  with  a  neck  just  large  enough 
to  admit  the  body  of  a  person.  The  whole  was  lined 
with  split  posts,  to  which  was  tied  an  inner  lining  of 
bunches  of  dried  grass.  The  opening  was  protected  by 
grass,  over  which  sod  was  placed.  In  these  caches  the 
winter  supply  of  food  was  stored;  the  shelled  corn  was 
put  into  skin  bags,  long  strings  of  corn  on  the  cob  were 
made  by  braiding  the  outer  husks,  while  the  jerked 
meat  was  packed  in  parfleche  cases.  Pelts,  regalia,  and 
extra  clothing  were  generally  kept  in  the  cache;  but 
these  were  laid  in  ornamented  parfleche  cases,  never 
used  but  for  this  purpose. 

"When  the  people  left  the  village  for  the  summer 
buffalo  hunt,  all  cumbersome  household  articles  —  as 
the  mortars  and  pestles,  extra  hides,  etc.  —  were  placed 
in  the  caches  and  the  openings  carefully  concealed.  The 
cases  containing  gala  clothing  and  regalia  were  taken 
along,  as  these  garments  were  needed  at  the  great  tribal 
ceremonies  which  took  place  during  that  period"  (p. 
98). 

Dorsey  says  of  the  Pawnee  caches:     "Just  inside  the 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  135 

lodge  and  to  the  north  of  the  entrance  was  built,  in 
winter,  the  sweat  lodge,  while  at  the  corresponding 
position  on  the  south  side  was  an  excavation  used  as  a 
storage  cellar  for  provisions,  such  as  corn  and  meat, 
intended  for  service  in  the  near  future.  The  surplus 
stock  of  provisions  was  cached  in  excavations  generally 
outside  and  to  the  north  of  the  lodge."12 

John  T.  Irving,  who  visited  the  Pawnees  in  the  early 
30  's,  states  that  their  caches  held  100  bushels,  but  this  is 
evidently  an  exaggeration. 

Pawnees:  "On  the  approach  of  winter  they  conceal 
their  stores  of  corn,  dried  pumpkins,  beans,  etc.,  and 
with  their  whole  retinue  of  dogs  and  horses  desert  their 
villages.  This  they  are  compelled  to  do  from  the  want 
of  wood,  not  only  for  fuel,  but  for  the  support  of  their 
numerous  horses. ' ' 1S 

In  Miss  Mary  A.  Owen 's  volume  of  negro  folk-tales 14 
there  is  a  very  interesting  description  of  the  method  of 
preparing  and  caching  "sweet  corn"  employed  by  the 
negro  women  of  western  Missouri  a  generation  ago. 
These  negroes  of  the  lower  Missouri  Valley  had  a  good 
deal  of  French  and  Indian  blood  in  their  veins,  and  Big 
Angy  is  said  to  have  been  the  daughter  of  a  negro  moth- 

!2  Tradition  of  the  Slcidi  Pawnee,  p.  xvi. 

!3  Long 's  Expedition,  v.  ii,  p.  215. 

The  Indians  fed  their  horses  in  winter  on  the  small  twigs 
and  bark  of  the  cottonwood  tree.  The  large  open  groves  of  these 
trees,  such  as  the  Big  Timbers  of  Eepublican  Eiver,  and  the 
Bunch-of -Timbers  on  the  Smoky  Hill  Fork,  were  favorite  winter- 
ing-grounds of  the  Indians. 

14  Voodoo  Tales,  as  told  among  the  negroes  of  the  Southwest, 
by  Mary  A.  Owen,  New  York,  1893,  p.  40. 


136  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

er  and  an  Iowa  Indian  father.  Several  old  negro  women 
are  talking  about  food,  and  Big  Angy  describes  her 
method  of  making  and  caching  ' '  sweet  corn ' ' : 

"Wen  de  roas'in'-yeahs  (roasting-ears)  is  in  de  milk, 
me  git  um,  bile  um,  dig  de  grains  offen  de  cob  wid  lil 
stick,  spread  um  on  de  big  rush  mats  me  mek'  twell  dey 
dry  lak  sand,  den  me  dig  hole  in  de  ground  —  deep, 
put  in  de  mats  all  round,  den  tek  de  cawn,  putt  um  in 
de  big  bag  mek  outen  de  eenside  bahk  o'  de  linn-tree, 
fling  dat  bag  in  de  pit,  putt  on  de  top  mo'  mat,  shubble 
on  de  dirt,  smack  um  down  flat.  Dat  cachein'l" 

"Uh-huh!  uh-huh!  dat  de  rale  Injun  way." 

The  bag,  made  of  the  inner  bark  of  the  "linn-tree," 
in  which  the  corn  was  packed,  was  called  a  "splint-bag." 

Verendrye  (Mandans)  :  "Their  fort  is  full  of  caves 
well  suited  to  concealment."  "They  made  us  under- 
stand that  they  came  inside  in  the  summer  to  work  their 
fields,  and  that  there  was  a  large  reserve  of  grain  in 
their  cellars." 

Lewis  and  Clark  (p.  200)  :  "We  purchased  from  the 
Mandans  a  quantity  of  corn  of  mixed  color  which  they 
dug  up  in  ears  from  holes  made  near  the  front  of  their 
lodges,  in  which  it  is  buried  during  the  winter." 

Henry  (p.  360)  :  "The  village  was  soon  in  an  uproar, 
the  women  meanwhile  uncovering  their  stores  of  corn, 
beans,  etc.  It  is  customary  in  the  fall,  after  the  harvest 
when  the  grain  is  well  dried  in  the  sun,  to  take  it  off  the 
cob,  and  deposit  it  in  deep  pits  about  the  village.  These 
holes  are  about  8  feet  deep;  the  mouth  is  just  wide 
enough  for  a  person  to  descend,  but  the  inside  is  hol- 
lowed out  any  size,  and  then  the  bottom  and  sides  are 
well  lined  with  dry  straw.  Such  caches  contain  from 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  137 

20  to  30  bushel  of  corn  and  beans,  which  are  thrown  in 
loose  and  covered  with  straw  and  earth.  The  ground 
is  of  such  a  dry  sandy  nature,  that  grain  stored  in  this 
way  will  keep  for  several  years  without  injury.  So 
numerous  about  the  village  are  these  pits  that  it  is  really 
dangerous  for  a  stranger  to  stir  out  after  dark. ' '  Henry 
was  struck  with  the  great  store  of  corn  in  these  villages 
when  he  saw  the  women  preparing  to  trade  with  the 
visiting  Cheyennes  from  the  plains:  "On  our  way  we 
observed  the  women  all  busy,  taking  their  hidden  treas- 
ures and  making  preparations  for  the  approaching  fair. 
I  was  surprised  to  see  what  quantities  they  had  on 
hand:  I  am  very  confident  they  had  enough  to  serve 
them  at  least  twelve  months  without  a  supply  of  flesh 
or  anything  else"  (p.  360). 

Catlin  (v.  i,  p.  137)  :  "They  are  packed  away  in 
caches  —  holes  dug  in  the  ground  some  six  or  seven 
feet  deep,  the  insides  of  which  are  somewhat  in  the  form 
of  a  jug,  and  tightly  closed  at  the  top.  The  corn  and 
even  dried  meat  and  pemican  are  placed  in  these  caches, 
being  packed  tight  around  the  sides  with  prairie  grass, 
and  effectually  preserved  through  the  severest  winters. ' ' 

Hayden  (p.  352)  :  "The  crops  being  gathered  in, 
are  stored  away  in  the  cellars,  before  alluded  to,  or 
buried  on  the  field  in  different  places,  in  what  are  called 
by  the  Canadian  traders  caches,  so  constructed  as  to  be 
impervious  to  rain,  and  so  well  covered  that  no  one 
could  discover  them  without  a  knowledge  of  their  local- 
ity." 

Boiler  (p.  118)  :  "The  trace  [i.e.,  braided  corn]  is 
cached  —  a  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground,  usually  near  the 
lodge,  some  6  or  8  feet  in  depth,  small  at  the  top  but 


138  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

widening  as  it  deepens,  much  resembling  a  jug  in  shape, 
hay  is  next  strewn  over  the  bottom  and  sides,  and  when 
the  corn  is  thoroughly  dried  it  is  taken  down  from  the 
scaffold  and  packed  away.  The  cache  is  filled  up  with 
hay,  dirt  is  then  thrown  on  and  firmly  trodden  down, 
and  every  sign  carefully  obliterated.  Each  family  has 
a  generous  supply  of  these  caches  and  as  they  leave  their 
summer  village  early  in  the  fall  for  winter  quarters, 
the  corn  remains  undiscovered  and  undisturbed  until 
they  return  in  the  spring. ' ' 

The  caches  did  not,  however,  always  prove  safe  storage 
places;  for  Bradbury  informs  us  that  on  July  15,  1811, 
the  heavy  rains  penetrated  the  Arikara  caches  and 
spoiled  all  their  supplies,  so  that  they  expected  to  be  in 
want  until  the  new  crop  could  be  harvested. 

In  early  times  the  Quapaws  of  Arkansas  stored  their 
corn  in  cane  baskets  and  in  gourds  "as  large  as  half- 
barrels."  The  southern  tribes  appear  to  have  pre- 
ferred to  store  their  corn  above  ground,  and  it  was  in 
the  south  that  the  primitive  form  of  the  modern  corn- 
crib  was  invented,  by  Indians. 

Among  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras,  the 
braided  corn  was  placed  in  the  caches  first,  after  the 
cache  had  been  lined  as  Henry  describes  it.  The 
threshed  or  shelled  corn  was  then  poured  in  on  top  of 
the  braided  and  the  cache  filled  up.  Each  family  usual- 
ly had  several  caches  filled  with  corn,  besides  those  con- 
taining beans,  dried  squashes,  sunflower  seed,  and  often 
dried  meat  and  fat.  The  position  of  the  caches  can 
still  be  noted  in  the  old  village  sites  and  the  number  of 
them  cannot  fail  to  impress  the  beholder  with  the  idea 


MANDAN  CORN 


1.  Soft  red  or  purple 

2.  Hard  white 

3.  Blue 

4.  Soft  yellow 

5.  Blue  and  white  speckled 

6.  Hard  yellow 


7.  Soft  white 

8.  Black 

9.  Society  corn 

10.  Clay  red 

11.  Spotted,  or  mixed 

12.  Eed  sweet  corn 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  141 

that  extensive  crops  must  have  been  necessary  to  fill  them 
all.  The  cache  was  early  adopted  by  the  traders  and 
trappers  for  purposes  of  storage  and  concealment,  and  no 
account  of  early  travel  in  the  trans-Missouri  region  fails 
to  mention  some  use  of  caches. 

5.     Yields 

The  crops  garnered  by  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes  were 
at  times  but  a  poor  reward  for  the  labor  expended ;  but 
it  is  certain  that  the  hardy  varieties  grown  rarely,  if 
ever,  entirely  failed;  for  in  the  worst  seasons  at  least 
seed  for  the  next  year's  planting  was  saved.  The  Pon- 
kas  appear  to  have  lost  their  seed  more  than  once,  but 
this  may  have  been  due  to  their  abandoning  their  vil- 
lage or  eating  the  little  corn  left  by  the  drought  and 
grasshoppers  instead  of  saving  it  for  seed.  The  agent 
for  the  Red  Lake  Chippewas  of  western  Minnesota  states 
in  his  report  for  1878  that  some  of  the  land  on  the  shore 
of  Red  Lake  has  been  cultivated  for  thirty  to  forty 
years  and  that  corn  has  never  failed  to  make  a  crop.15 

The  two  great  enemies  to  agriculture  on  the  Upper 
Missouri  in  early  years  were  drought  and  grasshoppers. 
Matthews  (p.  12)  says  on  this  subject:  "But  they  are 
not  always  thus  fortunate  for  the  soil  of  their  country, 
even  that  of  the  Missouri  bottoms,  is  not  very  rich,  the 
summer  season  is  short,  with  early  and  late  frosts,  the 
climate  is  dry,  long  drouths  often  prevail,  to  guard 
against  which  they  have  no  system  of  irrigation;  and 
lastly  the  grasshoppers,  the  plague  of  the  Missouri  Val- 

is  The  corn  raised  here  is  of  the  low  flint  type,  very  similar 
to,  and  probably  derived  from,  the  Mandan  corn. 


142  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ley  farmer,  have  often  devoured  the  crops  that  had 
escaped  all  other  enemies,  and  left  the  Indian  with  lit- 
tle more  than  seed  enough  for  the  coming  spring." 

Maximilian  (p.  238)  :  "In  the  heat  of  summer  the 
creeks  become  dry,  and  the  crops  of  maize  of  the  In- 
dians, often  fail  in  consequence  of  the  drought." 

Desmet  (p.  830)  :  "After  preparing  this  land  in 
this  manner  they  had  sowed  it.  Unluckily  this  year 
again  the  spring  had  been  without  rain  or  even  dew. 
Corn  and  other  vegetables  wrere  not  growing  and  their 
hopes  of  a  good  crop  were  fast  vanishing  again.  The 
Indians  were  feeling  very  bad  about  it." 

The  agents  for  the  Sioux  of  Crow  Creek  and  Chey- 
enne River  report  that  the  crops  in  1878  were  unusually 
good,  the  corn  yielding  20  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  from 
other  reports  it  would  seem  that  the  varieties  of  corn 
grown  by  all  of  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes  yielded  about 
the  same  —  about  20  bushels  per  acre  in  a  fair  year.16 

Sac  and  Fox,  report  for  1874 :  A  good  year ;  corn  20 
bushels  per  acre. 

Yanktons,  1867,  a  very  good  year,  corn  estimated  30 
bushels  to  the  acre,  but  the  agent  is  evidently  referring 
to  the  crop  put  in  by  white  employes,  who  perhaps  did 
not  plant  the  local  Indian  varieties  of  corn. 

Santee  Sioux,  on  Bazile  Creek,  Knox  county,  Ne- 
braska, 1878:  a  very  good  crop,  350  acres  of  corn, 
yield  9,000  bushels  —  25f  bushels  per  acre. 

The  year  1864  was  a  drought  and  grasshopper  year 
all  along  the  Upper  Missouri,  the  agents  reporting  vari- 

!o  These  Mandan  varieties  have  yielded  under  very  favorable 
conditions  over  forty  bushels  to  the  acre. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  143 

ously  from  one-third  of  a  crop  to  a  total  failure.  The 
lowas  saved  a  large  part  of  their  crop  by  making  it  into 
"sweet  corn."  Here  perhaps  we  have  another  reason 
for  the  Indian  practice  of  curing  a  part  of  their  crop 
while  in  the  milk.  The  corn  was  not  only  very  good 
when  so  prepared,  but  the  method  might  be  employed 
in  saving  the  crop  from  drought,  grasshoppers,  and  birds 
when  it  would  certainly  be  lost  if  left  to  ripen. 


IV— CORN  AS  FOOD 

1.    METHODS  OF  PREPARING  CORN.    2.    UTENSILS 

The  corn  raised  by  the  agricultural  tribes  of  the 
Upper  Missouri  was  an  important  source  of  food  not 
only  to  the  raisers  themselves  but  to  the  nomadic  tribes 
of  hunters  who  surrounded  their  villages  on  all  sides, 
and  also  to  the  early  white  explorers  and  traders  who 
penetrated  this  region. 

To  the  agricultural  tribes  themselves  the  corn  was  not 
only  an  important  article  of  food  from  day  to  day;  but 
the  large  stores  of  grain  which  they  usually  had  on  hand 
rendered  the  people  more  or  less  independent  of  the 
wandering  buffalo  herds,  and  insured  them  against 
famine,  especially  during  the  long,  hard  winters. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that,  in  the  time  before 
horses  and  firearms  were  acquired,  agriculture  must  have 
played  a  much  more  important  part  in  the  economy  of 
the  Upper  Missouri  tribes  than  it  did  later.  Hunting 
on  foot  with  bows  and  arrows,  spears,  and  clubs,  the 
kills  must  have  been  small.  The  trap  or  corral  was  of 
course  also  resorted  to,  but  herds  large  enough  to  make 
this  form  of  hunting  profitable  probably  did  not  often 
come  near  enough  to  the  villages  to  make  the  trans- 
portation of  the  meat  on  dogs  and  human  backs  possi- 
ble. It  is  hardly  likely  that  the  kills  in  a  region  con- 
tinuously occupied  by  a  large  fixed  population  could 
have  been  very  frequent,  nor  that  the  supplies  of  meat 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  145 

obtained  could  have  furnished  even  half  of  the  susten- 
ance of  the  people. 

In  support  of  this  view  we  have  the  statement  of  the 
Assiniboin  chiefs,  made  to  Verendrye  in  1738,  to  the 
effect  that  the  Mandans  were  usually  short  of  fat,  a  fact 
that  has  been  attested  by  several  later  authorities.  We 
also  have  the  speech  of  the  Panimaha  chief,  1724,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  the  hardships  of  the  women  and 
children  who,  because  of  the  want  of  horses,  are  com- 
pelled to  carry  heavy  burdens  on  their  backs  during  the 
tribal  hunts.1 

We  have  seen  that  Verendrye  considered  that  these 
Indians  were  amply  provided  with  grain,  and  that  Henry 
believed  their  stores  of  corn  and  vegetables  sufficient  to 
last  the  people  a  full  year  without  other  food.  This 
opinion  was  not  held  by  all  of  their  early  visitors;  but 
perhaps  the  men  who  state  that  these  tribes  were  poorly 
supplied  with  corn  did  not  witness  a  general  opening 
of  the  caches,  as  did  Verendrye  and  Henry.  Pike,  who 
declares  that  the  Pawnee  Republics  had  only  enough 
corn  to  thicken  their  soup,  camped  outside  the  village 
and  only  paid  a  brief  visit  to  the  Indians. 

It  is  probable  that  as  long  as  buffalo  meat  was  plenty 
and  the  road  to  the  herds  open,  the  corn  was  left  un- 
disturbed as  an  insurance  against  a  possible  scarcity  of 
meat  or  a  siege  by  the  enemy,  although  it  is  likely  that 
there  was  an  abundance  on  hand  in  good  years  to  supply 
all  of  their  needs  during  the  winter  and  spring.  Scat- 
tered Corn  says  that  among  the  Mandans  the  supply  of 
most  families  was  usually  exhausted  by  warm  weather, 

1  See  the  account  of  the  Bourgmont  expedition,  in  Margry,  v.  vi. 


146  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

except  for  the  seed  corn,  but  that  some  families,  who 
raised  the  most,  nearly  always  had  corn  left  over.  Judg- 
ing from  the  statements  in  Long 's  Expedition,  1820,  and 
Parker's  Travels,  1835,  the  Pawnees  still  had  corn  on 
hand  in  June  and  July  and  offered  it  to  their  visitors. 
We  have  several  opinions,  on  this  question  of  the  quan- 
tity of  corn  raised,  in  the  writings  of  the  early  explorers 
and  travelers;  but  one  thing  seems  clear,  and  that  is 
that  corn  was  sparingly  used  when  other  food  was  plen- 
tiful, although  the  Indians  might  have  a  large  supply 
on  hand  for  purposes  of  trade.  Meat  usually  had  small 
value  in  trade,  as  compared  with  the  value  of  corn,  and 
the  Indians  of  the  earth-lodge  villages  appear  at  most 
times  to  have  preferred  to  eat  the  meat  and  save  most 
of  the  corn  for  purposes  of  trade.  Verendrye,  however, 
seems  to  imply  an  entirely  different  condition  in  his 
time,  as  he  states  on  the  authority  of  the  Assiniboins 
that  the  Mandans  had  little  meat  and  fat  and  lived  al- 
most entirely  on  corn  and  vegetables. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  p.  231  (Mandans)  :  "Their  prin- 
cipal article  of  food  is  buffalo  meat,  their  corn,  beans, 
and  other  grains  being  reserved  for  summer,  or  as  a  last 
resource  against  what  they  constantly  dread,  an  attack 
from  the  Sioux." 

Yet  these  explorers  themselves  used  several  hundred 
bushels  of  Mandan  corn  during  that  winter.  Perhaps 
the  Indians  employed  the  above  explanation  as  a  trad- 
er's trick  to  keep  up  the  price. 

Catlin  says  of  the  Mandans  (v.  i,  p.  137):  "Corn 
and  dried  meat  are  generally  laid  in  in  the  fall,  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  support  them  through  the  winter. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  147 

These  are  the  principal  articles  of  food  during  that  long 
and  inclement  season ;  in  addition  to  them  they  often- 
times have  in  store  large  quantities  of  dried  squashes 
and  dried  pommes  blanches.  .  . " 

Boiler  was  a  later  visitor  and  saw  these  tribes  at  the 
time  when  they  were  cut  off  from  the  buffalo  herds.  He 
says  (p.  118)  :  "They  raise  black  beans,  pumpkins, 
and  squashes,  but  in  spite  of  these  vegetable  resources 
hemmed  in  as  they  often  are  by  enemies,  and  consequent- 
ly unable  to  obtain  by  hunting  a  full  supply  of  buffalo 
meat,  they  sometimes  suffer  greatly  for  food."  And  on 
p.  156:  "The  surplus  corn  had  been  cached  and  the 
scarcity  of  buffalo  around  the  summer  village  began  to 
be  severely  felt.  Had  it  not  been  for  their  crops  the 
Indians  would  have  been  reduced  to  extreme  hunger." 

From  these  statements  we  may  suppose  that  conditions 
were  pretty  much  the  same  both  in  early  times  and  in 
later  years:  That  these  tribes  usually  had  a  large  sur- 
plus of  corn  and  vegetables  when  they  had  access  to  the 
buffalo  herds  and  when  friendly  hunting  tribes  came 
to  their  villages  to  exchange  dried  meat  for  corn  and 
other  articles ;  but  that  when  the  tribes  were  cut  off  from 
the  usual  supply  of  meat  they  consumed  all  of  their 
store  of  corn  and  vegetables,  and  if  the  last  crop  had 
not  been  abundant,  they  were  probably  brought  to  the 
verge  of  famine. 

1.     Methods  of  preparing  corn 

The  importance  of  corn  as  a  food  among  the  tribes  of 
the  Upper  Missouri  has  been  already  referred  to,  and 
some  account  must  now  be  given  of  the  methods  of  pre- 
paring and  cooking  corn. 


148 


The  dried  green  corn,  or  sweet  corn,  was  usually 
boiled,  sometimes  by  itself,  but  more  often  with,  beans, 
with  squashes  or  pumpkins  and  with  the  roots  or  fruits 
of  certain  wild  plants.  The  hard  ripe  corn  was  either 
parched,  made  into  hominy,  or  pounded  into  meal. 
Matthews  gives  a  good  general  statement  on  the  uses  of 
corn  among  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas  and  Arikaras : 

"Their  principal  vegetable  diet  was  the  corn  they 
raised  themselves.  Flour,  issued  by  the  Agency  is  now 
to  a  great  extent  taking  its  place.  They  eat  some  of  the 
corn  while  it  is  green,  but  the  greater  part  they  allow 
to  ripen.  When  ripe  they  prepare  it  in  various  ways; 
they  pound  it  in  a  wooden  mortar  with  water,  and  boil 
the  moist  meal  thus  made  into  a  hasty  pudding,  or  cook 
it  in  cakes;  they  frequently  parch  the  corn  and  then 
reduce  it  to  powder  which  is  often  eaten  without  prep- 
aration. A  portion  of  their  corn  they  boil  when  nearly 
ripe,  they  then  dry  and  shell  it  and  lay  it  by  for  winter 
use.  When  boiled  again  it  tastes  like  green  corn;  this 
is  often  boiled  with  dried  beans  to  make  a  succotash. 
Their  beans  are  not  usually  eaten  until  ripe;  squashes 
are  cut  in  thin  slices  and  dried;  the  dried  squash  is 
usually  cooked  by  boiling;  sunflower  seed  are  dried, 
slightly  scorched  in  pots  or  pans  over  the  fire  and  then 
powdered;  the  meal  is  boiled  or  made  into  cakes  with 
grease.  The  sunflower  cakes  are  often  taken  on  war 
parties  and  are  said  when  eaten  even  sparingly  to  sus- 
tain the  consumer  against  fatigue  more  than  any  other 
food''  (p.  25). 

Dougherty  (1819)  gives  a  similar  account  of  the  uses 
of  corn  among  the  Omahas:  The  dried  green  corn  "may 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  151 

be  boiled  at  any  season  of  the  year.  .  .  They  also 
pound  it  into  a  kind  of  small  hominy,  which  when  boiled 
into  a  thick  mush,  with  a  proper  proportion  of  the 
smaller  entrails 2  and  jerked  meats  is  held  in  much  esti- 
mation. When  the  maize  which  remains  on  the  stock  is 
fully  ripe,  it  is  gathered,  shelled,  dried,  and  also  packed 
away  in  leathern  sacks.  They  sometimes  prepare  this 
hard  corn  for  eating,  by  the  process  of  leying  it,  or 
boiling  it  in  a  ley  of  wood-ashes  for  the  space  of  an  hour 
or  two,  which  devests  it  of  the  hard  exterior  skin ;  after 
which  it  is  well  washed  and  rinsed.  It  may  then  be 
readily  boiled  to  an  eatable  softness,  and  affords  a  pal- 
atable food. 

' '  The  hard  ripe  maize  is  also  broken  into  small  pieces 
between  two  stones,  one  or  two  grains  at  a  time,  the 
larger  stone  being  placed  on  a  skin,  that  the  flying  frag- 
ments may  not  be  lost.  This  coarse  meal  is  boiled  into 
a  mush  called  "Wa-na-de.  It  is  sometimes  parched  pre- 
viously to  being  pounded,  and  the  mush  prepared  from 
this  description  of  meal  is  distinguished  by  the  term 
Wa-jung-ga.  With  each  of  these  two  dishes,  a  portion  of 
the  small  prepared  intestines  of  the  bison,  called  Ta-she- 
ba,  are  boiled,  to  render  the  food  more  sapid/' 3 

Green  corn  was  roasted  or  boiled  on  the  ear  and  was 
sometimes  buttered  with  fat  or  marrow :  ' '  When  boiled 
green  with  rich  buffalo  marrow  spread  on  it  (instead  of 

2  The  small  intestines  of  the  buffalo  were  cleaned  and  turned 
or  inverted  so  as  to  enclose  the  fat  which  covered  their  exterior 
surface.     They  were  then  dried  in  the  sun,  woven  into  braids  or 
mats,  and  stored  away  for  winter  use. 

3  Dougherty,  in  Long 's  Expedition,   Thwaites  edition,  v.  i,  p. 
303. 


152  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

butter),  it  is  very  sweet  and  truly  delicious."  (Boiler, 
p.  135.) 

"With  ears  of  green  corn,  which  they  either  bury  in 
the  embers,  still  enveloped  in  the  husks,  or  roast  before 
the  fire ;  when  sufficiently  done  they  season  it  with  bear's 
oil,  buffalo  suet  or  marrow,  and  partake  of  the  rich 
though  simple  repast  with  joyful  gratitude."  (Hunter, 
p.  273.  This  evidently  refers  to  the  Osages.) 

Sweet  cwn,  or  green  corn  roasted  or  boiled  and  then 
dried  in  the  sun,  was  called  Watongziskithe  by  the  Oma- 
has.  The  corn  prepared  in  this  manner  for  winter  use 
is  very  highly  spoken  of  by  all  of  the  early  travelers  and 
traders. 

' '  Our  supper  consisted  of  very  pleasant  flavored  sweet 
maize."  (Maximilian,  p.  40,  —  Mandans.) 

Boiler,  p.  135  (Mandans)  :  "The  feast  consisting  of 
Indian  sweet  corn  and  tea  was  set  before  them." 

"We  were  conducted  to  the  lodge  of  one  of  their  chiefs, 
where  there  was  a  feast  of  sweet  corn,  prepared  by  boil- 
ing and  mixing  it  with  buffalo  grease.  Accustomed  as 
I  now  was  to  the  [de]  privation  of  bread  and  salt,  I 
thought  it  very  palatable.  Sweet  corn  is  corn  gathered 
before  it  is  ripe,  and  dried  in  the  sun ;  it  is  called  by  the 
Americans  green  corn  or  corn  in  the  milk."  (Bradbury, 
p.  131,  —  Arikaras.) 

Sweet  corn  and  beans  boiled  together  in  the  form  of  a 
succotash  was  a  favorite  dish  among  the  tribes  of  the 
Upper  Missouri.  It  was  prepared  in  various  ways. 

Henry,  p.  327:  "Our  host  presented  us  with  dried 
meat,  and  then  a  dish  of  corn  and  beans;  but  as  the 
latter  is  not  cooked  with  any  kind  of  grease  or  fat,  it 
has  a  very  insipid  taste." 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  153 

Maximilian,  p.  28  (Hidatsa  buffalo  dance) :  "Several 
young  men  were  now  employed  carrying  around  dishes 
of  boiled  maize  and  beans  which  they  placed  before  the 
guests.  These  dishes  were  handed  to  each  person  suc- 
cessively, who  passed  them  on  after  tasting  a  small  quan- 
tity." 

According  to  Carver  the  Wisconsin  Indians  prepared 
succotash  from  fresh  green  corn  and  unripe  beans: 
"One  dish  which  answers  nearly  the  same  purpose  as 
bread,  is  in  use  among  the  Outagamies,  the  Saukies,  and 
other  eastern  nations,  where  corn  grows  ...  is 
reckoned  extremely  palatable  by  all  Europeans  who  enter 
their  domains.  This  is  composed  of  their  unripe  corn, 
as  before  described,  and  beans  in  the  same  state,  boiled 
together  with  bear's  flesh  —  which  renders  it  beyond 
comparison  delicious.  They  call  this  food  succotash" 
(p.  135).  The  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  do  not 
appear  to  have  made  succotash  of  fresh  green  corn  and 
unripe  beans ;  but  Dunbar  states  that  the  Pawnees  boiled 
their  beans  and  pumpkins  when  green,  as  well  as  when 
ripe.4 

Henry,  p.  325 :  "On  going  into  the  hut  we  found  buf- 
falo hides  spread  on  the  ground  before  the  fire  for  us  to 
sit  upon,  and  were  presented  with  two  large  dishes  of 
boiled  corn  and  beans." 

Maximilian,  p.  220:  "A  large  dish  of  boiled  maize 
and  beans  was  immediately  set  before  us.  It  was  very 
tender  and  well  dressed  and  three  of  us  ate  out  of  the 


*  Buffalo  Bird  Woman  states  that  the  young  girls  who  watched 
the  corn  patches  to  prevent  the  birds  damaging  the  green  corn 
sometimes  boiled  green  corn  and  green  beans  together  and  ate 
them  in  the  fields. 


154  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

dish  with  spoons  made  out  of  the  horn  of  buffalo  or  big- 
horn." 

To  the  simple  dish  of  boiled  corn  and  beans,  other 
vegetables,  meats,  and  dried  fruits  were  often  added: 

Bradbury,  p.  154  (Hidatsas)  :  "We  were  treated  with 
a  dish  consisting  of  jerked  buffalo  meat,  corn  and  beana 
boiled  together." 

Long's  Expedition,  v.  i,  p.  114  (Kansa  tribe)  :  "They 
commonly  placed  before  us  a  sort  of  soup,  composed  of 
maize  of  the  present  season  [August  20],  of  that  de- 
scription which  having  undergone  a  certain  preparation 
[roasting  and  drying],  is  appropriately  named  sweet 
corn,  boiled  in  water,  and  enriched  with  a  few  slices  of 
bison  meat,  grease,  and  some  beans,  and  to  suit  it  to  our 
palates,  it  was  generally  seasoned  with  rock  salt,  which  is 
procured  near  the  Arkansa  river." 

Lewis  and  Clark,  p.  214 :  ' '  Kagahami  or  Little  Raven 
brought  his  wife  and  son  loaded  with  corn,  and  she  then 
entertained  us  with  a  favorite  Mandan  dish,  a  mixture 
of  pumpkins,  beans,  corn,  choke  cherries  with  the  stones, 
all  boiled  together  in  a  kettle,  and  forming  a  composition 
by  no  means  unpalatable." 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  270  (Omahas)  :  "Urn' 
bagthe:  corn  boiled  with  beans,  set  over  night  to  cool 
and  harden  then  served  cut  in  slices.  Considered  a  deli- 
cacy. ' ' 

Parker's  Travels,  1835,  p.  53  (Pawnees):  "The 
daughters  of  Big  Ax  served  us  on  the  occasion,  and 
bountifully  helped  us  to  boiled  corn  and  beans.  .  .In 
the  evening  we  were  invited  to  two  other  feasts.  The 
first  consisted  of  boiled  corn  and  dried  pumpkins  boiled 
together,  and  the  other  of  boiled  buffalo  meat." 


PAWNEE  CORN 


1.  Blue  flour 

2.  White  flour 

3.  Blue  speckled 

4.  Bed  striped 


5.  Yellow  flint 

6.  Eed  flour 

7.  Yellow  flour 

8.  Sweet  corn 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  157 

LaRaye,  p.  157  (Pawnees)  :  "When  they  boil  it  [the 
meat]  they  continue  boiling  it  until  it  can  be  eaten  with 
a  spoon,  throwing  in  a  handful  of  corn  if  they  have  it, 
with  a  small  quantity  of  bear's  oil." 

Dried  sweet  corn,  therefore,  was  boiled  by  itself,  with 
beans,  with  pumpkins  and  squashes,  with  meat  and  the 
small  dried  entrails  of  the  buffalo,  and  was  sometimes 
seasoned  with  salt,  with  bear's  oil,  or  with  choke  cherries. 
The  choke  cherries  were  pounded  up  stones  and  all,  and 
were  then  made  into  thin  cakes  which  were  dried  in  the 
sun  for  winter  use.  Salt  was  obtained  by  the  Omahas 
from  Salt  Creek  near  the  present  city  of  Lincoln,  Ne- 
braska, and  by  some  of  the  other  tribes  from  the  salt 
plains  on  the  Cimarron  and  Salt  forks  of  the  Arkansas.5 

Parched  corn  was  called  Wana'xe  by  the  Omahas,  and 
skin  bags  of  this  food  were  carried  on  hunting  trips,  war 
expeditions,  and  other  journeys.  It  was  usually  parched 
by  thrusting  a  sharpened  stick  into  the  butt  of  the  ear 
and  holding  it  over  the  fire. 

Henry,  p.  369:  They  "presented  the  pipe,  some 
meadow  turnips,  and  a  few  ears  of  very  hard,  dry  corn 
which  the  women  had  parched." 

s  Near  the  Pawnee  villages  in  1820,  Long's  party  met  a  young 
Arikara  man  who  lived  with  the  Skidi  Pawnees.  "He  had 
brought  with  him  from  one  of  the  upper  branches  of  the  Arkan- 
sas, two  masses  of  salt,  each  weighing  about  thirty  pounds. 
This  salt  is  pure  and  perfect,  consisting  of  large  crystalline 
grains,  so  concreted  together  as  to  form  a  mass  about  twenty 
inches  in  diameter  and  six  in  thickness."  V.  ii,  p.  219. 

Dunbar  states  that  in  early  years  the  Pawnees  carried  on  a 
trade  in  this  salt  with  the  tribes  farther  up  the  Missouri,  in- 
cluding the  Mandans. 


158  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Dunbar  (Pawnees)  :  "The  corn  was  sometimes 
parched  before  triturating,  and  by  this  means  the  flavor 
of  the  food  was  much  improved." 

Catlin,  p.  169  (Four  Bears'  exploit)  :  "He  traveled 
the  distance  of  200  miles  entirely  alone,  with  a  little 
parched  corn  in  his  pouch." 

Parched  corn  was  often  pounded  into  a  coarse  meal 
and  boiled  into  a  mush.  The  Omahas  called  this  Wa- 
shon'ge.  ' '  A  stick,  nonxpe,  was  thrust  into  the  cob  and 
the  corn  roasted  before  a  fire ;  then  it  was  shelled  and  the 
chaff  blown  off;  finally  it  was  pounded  in  a  mortar 
(uhe)  with  a  pestle  (wehe)."  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche, 
p.  270. 

Corn  meal  was  made  both  of  parched  and  unparched 
corn  and  was  much  employed  in  the  cookery  of  all  of 
the  Upper  Missouri  tribes. 

Henry,  p.  327 :  ' '  The  corn  is  generally  bruised  or 
pounded  in  a  wooden  mortar,  which  is  fixed  firmly  into 
the  ground  in  one  corner  of  the  hut ;  and  this  is  the  first 
work  performed  by  the  women  in  the  morning  —  after 
having  washed  themselves  in  the  Missouri. ' ' 

Verendrye  speaks  of  the  Mandans  going  to  meet  him 
"with  coarse  grain  cooked,  and  flour  made  into  paste." 

Bradbury,  p.  133  (Arikaras)  :  "The  squaw  prepared 
something  for  us  to  eat;  this  consisted  of  dried  buffalo 
meat  mixed  with  pounded  corn,  warmed  on  the  fire  in  an 
earthen  vessel  of  their  own  manufacture.  Some  offered 
us  sweet  corn  mixed  with  beans. ' ' 

Lewis  and  Clark,  p.  189  (Mandans)  :  "We  received 
a  visit  from  Kagahami  or  Little  Raven,  whose  wife  ac- 
companied him,  bringing  60  pounds  of  dried  meat,  a 
robe,  and  a  pot  of  meal." 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  159 

Henry  mentions  fresh  corn  (green  corn?)  mixed  with 
parched  corn  meal :  ' '  We  were  invited  into  several  huts 
successively  and  presented  with  .  .  .  corn  and 
beans,  together  with  parched  corn  and  fresh  ears  pound- 
ed up  in  a  mortar;  this  last  dish  we  found  good"  (p. 
325).  And  again,  p.  332,  he  says:  "We  had  a  plentiful 
supply  of  corn  and  beans,  and  were  soon  invited  to  sev- 
eral huts,  where  we  were  treated  with  a  very  palatable 
dish  of  pounded  peas  and  parched  corn." 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche  mention  two  Omaha  dishes 
made  of  corn  meal :  ' '  Wa'ske :  pounded  corn  mixed  with 
honey  and  buffalo  marrow.  Wani'de :  mush  or  gruel  — 
pounded  corn  mixed  with  water"  (p.  270). 

Bread  made  of  corn  and  beans  is  occasionally  men- 
tioned among  the  Upper  Missouri  Indians. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  p.  161  (Arikaras)  :  "They  also 
brought  us  some  corn,  beans,  and  dried  squashes  .  .  . 
they  presented  us  with  a  bread  made  of  corn  and  beans, 
also  corn  and  beans  boiled,  and  large,  rich  beans  which 
they  take  from  the  mice  of  the  prairie. ' ' 

Merrill  mentions  this  same  food  among  the  Otoes :  ' '  a 
piece  of  bread  made  of  pounded  corn  and  beans,  baked  in 
the  ashes. ' ' 6 

Dunbar  states  that  the  Pawnees  made  the  meal  from 
the  mortar  into  cakes  which  were  baked  in  the  ashes  or 
on  hot  stones,  and  the  Spanish  accounts  of  Coronado's 
expedition,  1541,  state  that  the  Quiviras  and  Harahays 
(Wichitas  and  Pawnees?)  had  no  bread,  except  the  kind 
' '  baked  under  the  ashes. ' ' 

Bread  made  of  fresh  green  corn  was  made  by  the 

6  Nebraska  Historical  Society,  Transactions,  v.  v,  p.  230. 


160  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Hidatsas,  according  to  Buffalo  Bird  Woman.6*  She  says 
that  the  corn  was  shelled  from  the  cob  with  the  thumb 
nail  and  was  then  pounded  to  a  pulp  in  the  mortar.  A 
row  of  fresh  husks  was  laid  down,  overlapping  like 
shingles,  and  on  these  several  more  layers  were  laid,  every 
other"  layer  running  crosswise.  The  corn  pulp  was  then 
poured  on  the  husks  and  patted  into  a  cake  about  two 
inches  thick.  The  edges  of  the  husks  were  next  drawn 
over  the  top  of  the  cake,  and  the  husk  covering  was  then 
tied  down  with  strips  of  husk.  A  cavity  in  the  ashes  of 
the  hearth  was  made,  live  coals  were  raked  into  this ;  the 
cake  was  placed  upon  the  coals  and  was  covered  with 
more  ashes  and  coals.  Two  hours  were  required  to  bake 
such  a  cake.  No  fat  or  seasoning  was  used.  This  was 
called  Naktsi:  Thing-baked-in-ashes. 

Corn  balls  were  a  favorite  article  of  food  among  the 
Mandans  and  Hidatsas.  There  were  several  varieties  of 
corn  balls.  One  was  made  of  pounded  sugar  corn  mixed 
with  grease.  Scattered  Corn  states  that  the  sugar  corn 
was  used  almost  wholly  for  this  purpose.  It  was  never 
picked  green.  The  Hidatsas  give  the  same  information. 
The  corn  ball  made  of  sugar  corn  was  called  by  the  Man- 
dans  wiipe.  Another  kind  of  corn  ball  was  made  of 
pounded  corn,  pounded  sunflower  seed,  and  boiled  beans. 

fia  Buffalo  Bird  Woman :  All  of  our  quotations  from  this  Hi- 
datsa  woman  should  be  credited  to  Dr.  Gilbert  L.  Wilson,  who  is 
the  author  of  the  series  of  articles,  "The  Story  of  Buffalo  Bird 
Woman,"  which  appeared  in  The  Farmer,  a  weekly  farm  journal, 
published  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.  This  very  interesting  life  story  of 
an  Indian  woman  appeared  in  four  parts  in  the  issues  of  The 
Farmer  for  December  2,  9,  16,  and  23,  1916. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  161 

It  tasted  like  peanut  butter  and  was  called  opata  by  the 
Mandans. 

Old  Cheyennes  state  that  corn  balls  were  an  article  of 
food  the  eagle-catchers  always  took  with  them,  into  the 
eagle-pits.  The  practices  connected  with  the  art  of 
eagle-catching  were  regulated  by  a  set  of  very  old  cus- 
toms, which  might  almost  be  termed  a  ritual,  and  the 
eating  of  corn  balls  in  the  eagle-pits  was  one  of  these 
practices. 

Henry  refers  to  corn  balls  (p.  357)  :  "He  presented 
me  with  a  dish  of  water,  which  after  my  taking  a 
draught,  he  removed,  and  handed  me  a  dish  containing 
several  balls,  about  the  size  of  a  hen 's  egg,  made  of  pears 
[June  berries],  dried  meat  and  parched  corn,  beaten  to- 
gether in  a  mortar." 

Henry  (p.  400)  :  "We  also  paid  some  women  for 
preparing  provision  for  our  homeward  journey ;  this  was 
principally  parched  corn  pounded  into  flour,  mixed  with 
a  small  portion  of  fat,  and  made  up  into  balls  about  the 
size  of  an  egg.  These  may  be  eaten  as  they  are,  or  boiled 
for  a  short  time ;  the  latter  method  we  found  most  whole- 
some. ' ' 

Larpenteur,  p.  247  (Arikaras)  :  "As  we  thus  drifted 
along  with  the  current,  they  gave  us  some  of  their  pro- 
visions, which  were  little  balls,  made  of  pounded  parched 
corn,  mixed  with  marrow-fat,  and  some  boiled  squashes." 

Hominy  was  made  by  several  of  the  Upper  Missouri 
tribes  from  the  hard  ripe  corn.  The  best  description  we 
have  of  the  method  employed  in  making  hominy  is  con- 
tained in  the  account  of  the  Kansa  tribe  in  Long's  Ex- 
pedition (v.  i,  p.  114)  :  "Another  very  acceptable  dish 


162  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

was  called  leyed  corn;  this  is  maize  of  the  preceding 
season  shelled  from  the  cob,  and  first  boiled  for  a  short 
time  in  ley  of  wood-ashes  until  the  hard  skin,  which  in- 
vests the  grains,  is  separated  from  them;  the  whole  is 
then  poured  into  a  basket,  which  is  repeatedly  dipped 
into  clean  water,  until  the  ley  and  the  skins  are  removed ; 
the  remainder  is  then  boiled  in  water  until  so  soft  as  to 
be  edible." 

Dunbar  mentions  the  hominy  made  by  the  Pawnees, 
but  does  not  describe  the  process. 

The  Omahas  made  from  the  hard  ripe  corn  Wdbi'- 
shnude  — ' '  corn  boiled  with  ashes  and  hulled. ' '  Dough- 
erty describes  the  Omaha  process  as  follows:  "They 
sometimes  prepare  this  hard  corn  for  eating,  by  the  pro- 
cess of  leying  it,  or  boiling  it  in  a  ley  of  wood-ashes  for 
the  space  of  an  hour  or  two,  which  divests  it  of  the  hard 
exterior  skin ;  after  which  it  is  well  washed  and  rinsed. 
It  may  then  be  readily  boiled  to  an  eatable  softness. ' ' 7 

Lewis  and  Clark  mention  hominy  among  the  Mandans : 
"In  the  course  of  the  day  we  received  several  presents 
from  the  women,  consisting  of  corn,  boiled  hominy  and 
garden  stuffs"  (p.  181). 

Brackenridge  applies  the  name  hominy  to  the  dried 
sweet  corn,  which  was  never  used  in  making  real  hom- 
iny :  ' '  After  the  meat  they  offered  us  hominy  made  out 
of  corn  dried  in  the  milk,  mixed  with  beans,  which  was 
prepared  with  buffalo  marrow  and  tasted  extremely 
well.  .  .  Their  most  common  food  is  hominy  and 
dried  buffalo  meat"  (p.  116).  This  is  evidently  the  same 
food  that  Dougherty  mentions  among  the  Omahas  — 

7  Long 's  Expedition,  v.  i,  p.  303. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  163 

dried  sweet  corn  pounded  into  ' '  a  kind  of  small  hominy, 
which  when  boiled  into  a  thick  mush,  with  a  proper  por- 
tion of  the  smaller  entrails  and  jerked  meat,  is  held  in 
much  estimation."  Bradbury  also  mentions  "hominy 
and  boiled  buffalo  meat"  among  the  Arikaras. 

Squashes  and  pumpkins,  both  green  and  dried,  were 
highly  esteemed  by  the  Missouri  Valley  Indians.  The 
use  of  these  vegetables  has  been  already  referred  to, 
but  a  few  additional  quotations  may  be  given  here. 

Hay  den,  p.  352:  "After  corn  squashes  next  claim 
their  attention  in  agriculture.  They  grow  on  large  and 
strong  vines  and  are  of  various  sizes  and  shapes.  They 
are  either  boiled  and  eaten  when  green  or  cut  up  and 
dried  for  winter  use.  In  the  latter  case  they  become 
very  hard,  and  are  scarcely  eatable  when  cooked,  except 
by  the  natives,  who  seem  to  devour  them  with  a  gusto 
and  preference  not  shown  for  any  other  vegetable  except 
corn." 

Catlin  refers  to  the  pounding  up  of  the  dried  squashes 
into  meal:  "These  are  dried  in  great  quantities  and 
pounded  into  a  sort  of  meal,  and  cooked  with  dried  meat 
and  corn"  (v.  i,  p.  137). 

Dunbar  states  that  the  Pawnees  grew  considerable 
quantities  of  pumpkins  and  squashes,  gathered  them 
when  they  did  the  green  corn  in  September,  cut  them 
into  long  slices  and  hung  them  up  on  scaffolds  to  dry. 
They  were  eaten  both  fresh-picked  and  dried.  Dried 
pumpkin  boiled  with  buffalo  meat  is  mentioned  among 
the  Pawnees  by  Parker,  July  3,  1835.  This  was  a  favor- 
ite dish. 

Choke  cherries  were  much  employed  as  a  seasoning  for 


164  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

food  both  by  the  agricultural  tribes  along  the  Missouri 
River  and  the  wandering  hunter  tribes  in  the  Plains. 
These  cherries  were  pounded  up  stones  and  all,  made  into 
thin  cakes  and  dried  in  the  sun  for  winter  use.  The 
Plains  Indians  boiled  pieces  of  this  cherry  cake  with 
their  meat,  giving  the  broth  a  pleasant  flavor.  The  Ara- 
pahoes  mingled  buffalo  tallow  with  the  pounded  cherries 
before  drying  them  hi  the  sun. 

2.     Vtetisils 

In  the  work  of  preparing  and  cooking  the  food,  there 
were  a  number  of  receptacles  and  utensils  in  use  among 
the  Upper  Missouri  tribes.  Included  in  this  category 
are  the  wooden  bowls  and  dishes,  clay  pottery,  baskets, 
spoons,  stone  mullers,  mortars  and  pestles. 

The  wooden  dishes  and  bowls  were  used  to  hold  the 
seed  in  the  field  while  planting  as  well  as  in  the  serving 
of  food  in  the  lodge.  They  were  carved  out  of  some 
fairly  hard  wood,  usually,  and  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
nearly  as  common  as  the  clay  pottery. 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  338  (Omahas)  :  "The 
making  of  wooden  articles  was  also  the  task  of  the  men. 
.  .  .  Wooden  bowls  (zhonguf 'xpe)  were  made  from 
the  burrs  of  the  black  walnut.  These  were  burned  into 
shape  as  described  and  polished  with  sand  and  water; 
experience  and  skill  were  needed  to  make  the  bowl  sym- 
metrical. Some  of  these  bowls  were  beautiful  in  the 
marking  and  grain  of  the  wood  as  well  as  in  form. ' ' 

Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee,  p.  18 :  The 
ordinary  domestic  utensils  were  the  wooden  bowl  or  plat- 
ter, beautifully  carved  from  a  knot,  and  spoons  made  of 
the  buffalo  horn,  in  many  shapes. ' ' 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  165 

We  have  many  good  early  descriptions  of  the  manu- 
facture of  pottery  among  these  tribes. 

Henry,  p.  328  (Mandans)  :  "Their  corn  and  beans 
are  boiled  whole.  They  use  large  earthen  pots  of  their 
own  manufacture  of  a  black  clay  which  is  plentiful 
around  their  villages.  They  make  them  of  different  sizes 
from  one  quart  to  five  gallons.  .  .  One  or  more  of 
the  largest  kind  is  constantly  boiling  prepared  corn  and 
beans,  and  all  who  come  in  are  welcome  to  help  them- 
selves to  as  much  as  they  can  eat  of  the  contents.  The 
bottoms  of  these  pots  are  of  a  convex  shape  and  care  is 
therefore  required  to  keep  them  from  upsetting.  For 
this  purpose  when  they  are  put  to  the  fire  a  hole  is  made 
in  the  ashes  to  keep  them  erect,  and  when  taken  away 
they  are  placed  upon  a  sort  of  coil  made  of  bois  blanc 
fibers.  These  coils  are  of  different  sizes,  according  to 
the  dimensions  of  the  several  pots.  Some  pots  have  two 
ears  or  handles  and  are  more  convenient  than  those  with 
none. ' ' 

Hayden,  p.  355  (Arikaras)  :  "The  Arikaras  though 
stupid  in  many  respects  show  considerable  ingenuity  in 
making  tolerably  good  and  well  shaped  vessels  for  cook- 
ing purposes.  They  are  wrought  by  hand  out  of  clay, 
and  baked  in  the  fire,  though  not  glazed.  They  consist 
of  pots,  pans,  porringers,  and  mortars  for  pounding  corn. 
They  are  of  a  gray  color;  stand  well  the  action  of  fire, 
and  are  nearly  as  strong  as  ordinary  potters'  ware." 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche  (Omahas)  :  "In  old  times  the 
Omaha  women  made  pottery  of  a  rather  coarse  type, 
ornamented  with  incised  .lines.  These  pottery  kettles 
could  be  hung  or  set  over  the  fire.  .  .  Bowls  of  pot- 


166  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

tery  and  wood  were  used,  which  bore  the  general  name 
uxpe"  (pp.  340-341). 

The  baskets  which  were  used  in  carrying  to  and  from 
the  field  and  as  receptacles  about  the  lodge  were  woven 
in  pleasing  patterns  of  strips  of  box-elder  bark,  that  is 
the  inner  bark,  and  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  species  of  wil- 
lows. The  frame  was  of  willow  rods  bent  into  shape  and 
tied  with  strips  of  hide.  The  weaving  was  neither  very 
fine  nor  complicated,  but  gave  a  strong  and  durable  bas- 
ket. The  art  of  making  them  is  almost  lost  among  the 
Mandans,  Hidatsa,  and  Arikaras,  there  being  but  one 
Arikara  and  one  Hidatsa  woman  who  still  practice  it. 
Dorsey  tells  us  that  the  Skidi  Pawnee  formerly  made 
carrying-baskets,  such  as  "are  in  use  today  among  the 
Arikara  and  Mandan."  The  Omahas  understood  the 
art  of  weaving  after  a  rude  fashion,  but  there  is  no  men- 
tion of  baskets  being  made  or  used. 

Verendrye  (Mandans)  :  "They  make  wicker  work 
very  neatly,  flat  and  in  baskets.  They  make  use  of 
earthen  pots,  which  they  use  like  many  other  nations  for 
cooking  their  food. ' ' 

Spoons  and  ladles  were  made  both  of  wood  and  horn. 
The  horn  spoons  in  particular  were  very  graceful  in 
form,  the  smaller  ones  being  made  of  the  black  horn  of 
the  buffalo,  while  the  larger  ones,  often  holding  a  pint  or 
more,  were  carved  from  the  yellow  horn  of  the  bighorn 
or  Rocky  Mountain  sheep. 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche  (Omahas)  :  "Wooden  ladles 
were  made  with  the  handle  so  shaped  that  it  could  be 
hooked  on  the  edge  of  the  bowl  so  as  not  to  drop  into 
the  contents.  .  .  Spoons  were  made  of  wood  and  of 


3.. 


By  permission  of  the  Montana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

PLANTS  OF  FOUR  VARIETIES  OF  Sioux  CORN 

1.  Fort  Totten  Sioux  2.  Field  of  Fort  Peck  corn 

3.  Santee  Sioux  4.  Blue  flour  from  Rosebud  Agency 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  169 

buffalo  horn;  the  latter  kind  were  in  general  use  al- 
though tabu  to  one  subdivision  of  the  Tha'tada  gens" 
(p.  338) .  This  subgens  held  the  head  of  the  buffalo  tabu 
and  therefore  might  not  touch  anything  made  of  buffalo 
horn. 

Each  house  had  its  permanent  wood  mortar,  set  firmly 
into  the  earth  floor,  with  a  heavy  wooden  pestle  fitting 
into  it.  In  this  most  of  the  corn  grinding  or  pounding 
was  done.  In  addition  to  these  wooden  mortars  each 
woman'  had  several  small  stone  mortars.  Some  of  these 
were  flat  stones;  others  were  of  the  shape  of  the  stones 
used  in  the  Scotch  game  of  curling;  each  stone  mortar 
had  a  small  hollow  in  the  top,  and  small  rounded  stones, 
two  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  were  employed  as 
pounders.  These  little  stone  mortars  were  used  in 
pounding  up  choke  cherries  and  other  fruits,  dried  meat, 
and  hard  corn.  The  hollow  in  the  stone  was  so  small 
that  only  three  or  four  grains  of  corn  could  be  broken  at 
a  time.  Among  the  tribes  that  abandoned  their  villages 
and  went  on  extended  tribal  hunts,  the  large  wooden 
mortars  were  taken  up  and  stored  in  caches  and  only  the 
small  stone  mortars  were  taken  on  the  hunting  trips. 
Among  the  older  people  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and 
Arikaras,  the  large  wooden  mortar  and  the  flat  stones 
are  still  in  use  at  the  present  time. 

Hayden  speaks  of  baked  clay  mortars  being  made  by 
the  Arikaras :  ' '  They  make  of  clay  and  bake  in  the  fire 
pots,  pans,  porringers,  and  mortars  for  pounding 
corn.  .  .  For  pounding  corn  and  other  hard  sub- 
stances, they  make  also  mortars  of  stone,  working  the 
material  into  shape  with  great  labor  and  perseverance" 
(p.  355). 


170  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Fletcher  and  La  Flesche  (Omahas)  :  "The  making  of 
wooden  articles  was  also  the  task  of  the  men.  The  mor- 
tar (u'he),  which  was  a  necessity  in  every  household, 
was  formed  from  a  section  of  a  tree-trunk  a  foot  or  so  in 
diameter  and  about  three  feet  long.  One  end  was 
chipped  to  a  point  so  that  it  could  be  thrust  into  the 
ground  to  hold  the  utensil  steady  when  in  use ;  the  other 
end  was  hollowed  out  to  form  the  receptacle  for  the  corn, 
by  the  following  process :  Coals  were  placed  on  the  sur- 
face and  were  kept  'alive'  by  being  fanned  as  they  slow- 
ly burned  their  way  into  the  wood,  until  a  sufficiently 
large  cavity  had  been  burned  out,  when  the  mortar  was 
smoothed  with  sandstone  and  water,  inside  and  outside. 
The  pestle  (wef~he}  was  between  three  and  four  feet  long, 
large  and  heavy  at  one  end,  and  smaller  and  tapering  at 
the  other.  When  in  use  the  small  end  was  inserted  into 
the  mortar,  the  weight  of  the  large  end  giving  added 
force  to  the  pounding  of  the  corn"  (p.  338). 

Dougherty  (1819)  informs  us  that  when  the  Omahas 
started  on  their  annual  buffalo  hunt  they  concealed  these 
large  wooden  mortars  and  pestles  in  caches  and  took  only 
the  small  stone  ones  with  them. 


V  — CORN  AS  AN  ARTICLE  OF  TRADE 

1.    EARLY   INTERTRIBAL   TRADE.    2.     TRADE   WITH   THE 

WHITES 

1.    Early  intertribal  trade 

Like  the  towns  of  Pecos,  Taos,  and  Picuris  on  the  east- 
ern and  northern  frontiers  of  the  Pueblo  country,  the 
earth-lodge  villages  of  the  Upper  Missouri  were  from 
very  early  times  centers  of  trade  to  which  the  wandering 
tribes  in  the  Plains  came  at  frequent  intervals,  to  visit 
and  traffic  with  the  inhabitants.  In  primitive  times 
these  hunters  of  the  Plains  brought  to  the  Missouri  vil- 
lages meat  and  robes,  pelts,  eagle  feathers,  red  pipestone 
from  the  Minnesota  region,  and  rock  salt  from  the  plains 
south  of  the  Arkansas.  By  the  beginning  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  European  goods  made  their  appearance, 
the  tribes  of  the  north  bringing  down  English  goods 
from  Hudson  Bay  to  the  Missouri,  while  the  Plains  tribes 
brought  Spanish  goods  from  New  Mexico.  It  was  at 
about  this  period  also  that  the  Plains  tribes  began  to 
bring  horses  to  the  Missouri  villages  in  considerable  num- 
bers, to  be  exchanged  for  guns  and  other  articles  from 
Hudson  Bay. 

In  this  early  intertribal  trade  the  villagers  acted  as 
middlemen  between  the  tribes  to  the  north  and  east  of 
the  Missouri  and  those  in  the  Plains  to  the  south  and 
west.  The  trade  found  its  way  naturally  to  the  villages, 
because  of  their  fixed  position  along  the  great  dividing 


172  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

line  of  the  Missouri,  and  also  because  of  the  agriculture 
practised  by  the  village  peoples.  The  hunters  of  the 
Plains,  like  all  people  subsisting  almost  entirely  on  meat, 
had  a  craving  for  vegetable  foods ;  they  had  a  particular 
liking  for  corn ;  and  the  villages  on  the  Upper  Missouri 
were  the  only  points  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
pueblos  of  New  Mexico  at  which  corn  could  be  procured. 
This  traffic  in  corn  between  the  villagers  and  the  men  of 
the  Plains  is  mentioned  by  the  Spaniards  as  early  as 
1541,  and  it  continued  until  the  Plains  tribes  were  placed 
on  reservations  and  rationed  by  the  United  States1  gov- 
ernment, fifty  or  sixty  years  ago. 

The  custom  of  giving  presents  was  universal  among 
the  tribes,  and  as  a  return  was  expected  this  form,  of 
exchange  was  usually  as  profitable  as  regular  trading. 
From  very  early  times  the  agricultural  tribes  of  the 
Upper  Missouri  made  a  practice  of  of  giving  large 
presents  of  corn  to  visitors. 

Verendrye  is  the  first  to  mention  this  custom  (1738). 
He  states  that  he  was  met  near  the  Mandan  villages  by  a 
messenger  who  ' '  presented  me  with  a  gift  of  Indian  corn 
in  the  ear,  and  of  their  tobacco  in  rolls,  which  is  not  as 
good  as  ours  as  they  do  not  know  how  to  cure  it  like  us. ' ' 

Lewis  and  Clark  make  frequent  mention  in  their 
journals  of  presents  of  corn  from  the  Mandans  and 
Hidatsas.  "They  made  us  a  present  of  7  bushels  of 
corn,  a  pair  of  leggings,  a  twist  of  their  tobacco,  and 
seeds  of  two  different  species  of  tobacco"  (p.  161). 
Again,  a  Mandan  sent  an  invitation  "to  come  to  his 
village,  where  he  wished  to  present  some  corn  to  us" 
(p.  186).  And  (p.  181)  :  "They  brought  a  present  of 
corn  on  their  mules." 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  173 

The  agricultural  tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  con- 
ducted a  large  trade  in  corn  with  the  hunter  tribes  of 
the  plains.  This  trade  was  of  great  importance  to  the 
agricultural  tribes,  particularly  in  early  times  before 
white  traders  had  established  themselves  on  the  Upper 
Missouri.  It  was  through  this  trade  that  the  tribes  pro- 
cured their  first  guns  and  other  European  weapons,  with- 
out which  they  would  have  been  fairly  at  the  mercy  of 
their  powerful  neighbors  in  the  east  and  northeast,  who 
were  in  direct  trade  relations  with  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish. The  corn  trade  also  brought  the  earth-lodge  vil- 
lagers their  first  horses,  animals  which  proved  of  incal- 
culable value ;  and  the  fact  that  they  always  had  a  sur- 
plus stock  of  corn  and  vegetables  on  hand  for  purposes 
of  barter  frequently  won  for  them,  for  short  periods  at 
least,  the  friendship  of  these  powerful  neighbors,  and 
thus  gave  their  warriors  seasons  of  much-needed  rest 
from  the  continuous  strain  of  standing  on  guard  against 
hostile  raiders  year  after  year. 

To  the  hunting  tribes  the  corn  trade  was  also  of  high 
value.  Writing  in  1826,  Thomas  Forsyth,  one  of  our 
best  early  authorities  on  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi and  Upper  Missouri  regions,  states  that  Indians, 
even  when  they  had  an  abundance  of  meat,  always  felt  at 
a  loss  without  vegetable  food,  and  that  they  had  a  par- 
ticular craving  for  corn.1  In  early  times  journeys  of 
surprising  length  were  made  by  the  hunter  tribes  to 
procure  corn  at  the  Upper  Missouri  villages.  From  the 
southwest  they  came  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Platte, 

i  Thomas  Forsyth 's  account  of  the  Sauk  and  Fox  tribes,  re- 
printed in  Blair's  Indian  Tribes  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  v.  ii, 
p.  228. 


174  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

and  from  the  northeast  from  at  least  as  far  as  the  As- 
siniboin  River  and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  To  these 
non-agricultural  tribes  the  corn  meant  in  times  of  plenty 
a  welcome  and  needed  change  of  diet;  but  in  hard  win- 
ters, and  when  the  buffalo  or  other  game  eluded  their 
search,  it  meant  many  times  the  salvation  of  whole 
camps,  destitute  of  meat  and  perishing  of  starvation. 
Without  this  stored-up  food  within  reach  the  toll  of 
famine  would  have  been  immeasurably  greater  in  many 
a  hard  winter.  On  these  occasions  horses,  arms,  and  the 
stores  of  furs,  which  they  were  better  able  to  gather  dur- 
ing their  wanderings  than  were  the  sedentary  village  In- 
dians, all  went  to  the  corn  raisers  in  exchange  for  the 
saving  grain. 

We  have  some  long  accounts  and  frequent  brief  men- 
tions of  this  trade  in  corn  which  demonstrates  conclusive- 
ly its  great  importance  and  the  high  place  which  it  oc- 
cupied in  the  economy  of  the  entire  northern  plains  area. 

Going  back  to  the  earliest  period  of  which  we  have 
any  written  record,  we  find  that  when  the  Spaniards 
penetrated  to  New  Mexico  in  1540  they  found  that  the 
Pueblo  Indians  had  a  definite  knowledge  of  the  Wichitas 
and,  evidently,  of  the  Pawnees,  living  in  the  southern 
edge  of  the  Upper  Missouri  region.  The  New  Mexican 
Indians  had  slaves  from  these  tribes ;  and  as  we  have  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  they  carried  their  war  expeditions 
as  far  as  the  Pawnee  country,  we  must  conclude  that 
these  Wichita  and  Pawnee  slaves  found  their  way  to 
the  Southwest  through  the  medium  of  trade  with  the 
wandering  hunters  in  the  Plains,  and  that  a  system  of 
intertribal  trade  extending  from  the  Missouri  to  New 


X 

OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  175 

Mexico  was  already  in  existence  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  although  at  that  period  the  tribes  in  the  Plains 
were  all  on  foot.2  It  was  through  this  intertribal  trade 
in  corn  and  other  articles  that  the  Spaniards  in  New 
Mexico  during  the  seventeenth,  eighteenth,  and  early 
nineteenth  centuries  secured  frequent  information  as  to 
events  on  the  Missouri  River.  When  the  French  ex- 
plorers pushed  out  into  the  plains  of  Oklahoma  and 
Kansas,  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  they  found  a 
knowledge  of  the  wonderful  earth-lodge  villages  of  the 
Dakota  region  extending  as  far  south  as  the  tribes  dwell- 
ing on  the  Canadian  River  in  Oklahoma;  and  they  men- 
tion Arikara  slaves  among  the  letans  on  the  northern 
frontier  of  New  Mexico.  In  a  similar  way,  either  to- 
ward the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  or  early  in  the 
following  one,  the  Assiniboins  and  Crees  from  the  north 
carried  a  knowledge  of  the  Mandan  villages  along  the 
Great  Lakes  to  the  outposts  of  the  French  and  northward 
to  the  English  on  Hudson  Bay.  The  tales  they  brought, 
either  very  meager  or  misunderstood  by  the  French  and 
English,  led  to  the  belief  that  the  Mandans  were  a  white 
people,  perhaps  Spaniards,  living  on  or  near  the  shores 
of  the  western  sea. 

What  appears  to  be  the  earliest  mention  of  this  Man- 
dan  trade  in  corn  with  the  northern  tribes,  is  contained 
in  a  letter  from  Father  Aulneau,  Jesuit  missionary  among 

2  The  chroniclers  of  the  Coronado  expedition,  1540-41,  state 
that  these  wandering  foot  Indians  of  the  Plains  came  in  near 
the  Pueblo  towns  each  fall  and  "wintered  under  the  wings"  of 
the  villages.  They  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  towns,  as  they 
could  never  be  trusted,  but  the  Pueblos  were  always  glad  to  trade 
with  them,  giving  corn  for  dried  meat  and  buffalo  skins. 


176  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

the  Crees,  dated  April  30,  1736.  In  this  letter  Aulneau 
speaks  of  Lake  Winnipeg  and  states  that  he  intends  to 
spend  the  coming  summer  among  the  Assiniboins  who 
occupy  the  country  lying  to  the  south  of  this  lake. 
"Some  time  about  the  feast  of  all  saints,  if  it  be  the 
will  of  our  good  Lord,  I  intend,  with  as  many  of  the 
french  as  are  willing  to  encounter  the  same  dangers,  to 
join  the  Assiniboels  [Assiniboins],  who  start  each  year, 
just  as  soon  as  the  streams  are  frozen  over,  for  the 
country  of  the  kaotiouak  or  Autelsipounes  [i.  e.,  Man- 
dans],  to  procure  their  supply  of  Indian  corn."  3  From 
the  language  used  by  Aulneau  it  seems  clear  that  these 
journeys  of  the  Assiniboins  to  the  Mandans  for  corn  were 
a  regular  part  of  the  yearly  round.  From  Lake  Win- 
nipeg to  the  Mandans:  "the  distance  is  computed  to  be 
two  hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  but  as  the  party  engage 
in  the  hunt  as  they  advance,  in  all  liklihood  we  shall 
go  over  more  than  four  hundred.  .  .  Toward  the 
middle  of  March,  I  shall  leave  this  place  [Mandans]  to 
return  to  the  shores  of  ouinipigon." 

Soon  after  writing  this  letter,  Father  Aulneau  fell  a 
victim  to  a  Sioux  war  party  which  ambushed  and  mas- 
sacred a  detachment  of  Verendrye's  men  on  an  island 
in  Lake  of  the  Woods.  Two  years  later,  however,  the 
journey  to  the  Mandans  which  he  had  contemplated  was 
carried  out  by  Verendrye. 

On  October  18,  1738,  Verendrye  set  out  with  a  score 
of  his  Frenchmen  and  some  Assiniboins  for  the  Mandan 
villages.  The  Indians  led  him  a  round-about  way 
through  the  plains,  hunting  buffalo  as  they  went,  and 

s  Jesuit  Relations,  Thwaites,  v.  Ixviii,  p.  293. 


MANDAN  BLUE  AND  WHITE  SPOTTED  CORN 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  179 

finally  joined  a  large  camp  of  Assiniboins.  Runners 
were  sent  ahead  to  notify  the  Mandans  of  the  approach 
of  the  Assiniboins  and  French  and  to  fix  a  place  of  meet- 
ing, the  Assiniboins  for  some  reason  (fear  of  the  Sioux?) 
not  caring  to  take  their  women  and  children  as  far  as  the 
villages.  On  November  28  the  place  of  meeting  was 
reached  and  the  Assiniboins  went  into  camp.  That  same 
evening  a  Mandan  chief  arrived  with  thirty  men  and 
the  four  Assiniboin  messengers.  This  Mandan  chief  was 
from  the  most  northerly  and  the  smallest  of  the  villages, 
the  "small  fort  away  from  the  river"  with  which  the 
Assiniboins  appear  to  have  been  in  closest  relations. 
The  chief,  however,  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  maintain- 
ing the  large  Assiniboin  camp  which  had  accompanied 
Verendrye  at  free-quarters,  for  "if  they  all  came  to  his 
fort,  there  must  be  a  great  consumption  of  grain,  their 
custom  being  to  feed  liberally  all  who  came  among  them, 
selling  only  what  was  to  be  taken  away."  The  chief 
therefore  stated  that  the  Sioux  were  about  to  attack  his 
fort  and  that  he  was  very  much  pleased  that  the  Assini- 
boins had  come  with  the  French  to  aid  him.  The  As- 
siniboins fearing  the  Sioux  greatly,  at  once  determined 
to  remain  where  they  were  and  send  only  a  picked  body 
of  men  to  the  Mandan  fort  with  the  French. 

The  Mandan  chief *s  thirty  followers  had  brought  corn 
in  the  ear  and  other  articles  with  them,  and  now  pro- 
ceeded to  trade  with  the  Assiniboins,  who  had  a  large 
supply  of  English  and  French  goods  and  also  buffalo 
meat  and  fat.  The  Mandans  traded  "grain,  tobacco, 
peltry  and  painted  plumes,  which  they  know  the  Assini- 
boins  greatly  value ' '  for  ' '  muskets,  axes,  kettles,  powder, 


180 


balls,  knives  and  awls."  "They  are  much  craftier  in 
trade  than  the  Assiniboins  and  others,  who  are  constantly 
their  dupes." 

With  a  score  of  Frenchmen  and  600  Assiniboin  war- 
riors, Verendrye  marched  into  the  Mandan  village  on 
December  3.  The  Assiniboins  at  once  proceeded  to  trade, 
but  Verendrye  gives  no  details  of  the  trafficking.  He 
says  (p.  19)  that  the  Mandans  had  besides  corn  "painted 
ox-robes,  deer  skin,  dressed  buck  skin  and  ornamented 
furs  and  feathers,  painted  feathers,  and  peltry,  wrought 
garters,  circlets  for  the  head,  girdles.  These  people 
dress  leather  better  than  any  of  the  other  nations,  and 
work  in  fur  and  feathers  very  tastefully,  which  the 
Assiniboins  are  not  capable  of  doing.  They  are  cunning 
traders,  cheating  the  Assiniboins  of  all  they  may  possess, 
such  as  muskets,  powder,  balls,  kettles,  axes,  knives  or 
awls.  Seeing  the  great  consumption  of  food  daily  by 
the  Assiniboins,  and  afraid  that  it  would  not  last  long, 
they  set  afloat  a  rumour  that  the  Sioux  were  near  and 
that  several  of  their  hunters  had  noticed  them.  The  As- 
siniboins fell  into  the  trap  and  made  up  their  minds 
quickly  to  decamp." 

That  the  Mandans,  like  all  sedentary  tribes,  were 
shrewd  traders  we  may  well  believe,  but  that  they  cheated 
the  Assiniboins  and  other  hunting  tribes  in  their  ex- 
changes is  a  statement  open  to  much  doubt.  The  hunt- 
ing tribes  would  not  have  made  the  long  and  dangerous 
trip  to  the  Mandans  each  year  only  to  be  cheated  of 
their  goods,  and  Verendrye  himself  states  that  these 
hunting  Indians  valued  grain  more  highly  than  they  did 
European  goods,  and  that  the  painted  robes  and  feathers, 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  181 

ornamented  furs,  and  other  articles  made  by  the  Man- 
dans  were  also  highly  prized. 

Carver  (1767)  is  the  next  writer  to  refer  to  this  trade 
in  corn  between  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri  and 
the  Assiniboins.  He  says  (p.  109,  edition  1781)  :  "On 
this  river  [Assiniboin]  there  is  a  factory  that  was  built 
by  the  French  called  Fort  La  Reine,  to  which  the  traders 
from  Michillimackinac  resort  to  trade  with  the  Assini- 
poels  and  Killistinoes.  To  this  place  the  Mahahs,  who 
inhabit  a  country  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south- 
west, come  also  to  trade  with  them;  and  bring  great 
quantities  of  Indian  corn  to  exchange  for  knives,  toma- 
hawks, and  other  articles.  These  people  are  supposed  to 
dwell  on  some  of  the  branches  of  the  river  of  the  west." 
These  people  were  evidently  the  Amahami,  a  little  tribe 
living  with  the  Hidatsas  and  Mandans,  who  were  always 
noted  for  their  daring  and  for  the  remarkably  long 
journeys  made  by  their  little  bands.  If  Carver's  ac- 
count of  this  trade  may  be  trusted,  it  would  seem  that 
intertribal  wars  had  stopped  the  Assiniboin  visits  to  the 
Mandan  villages,  and  that  the  Amahamis  were  taking  the 
corn  up  through  the  danger  zone  to  trade  it  to  the  As- 
siniboins and  Crees  at  Fort  de  la  Reine.  Carver  also 
states  that  these  two  northern  tribes  were  still  getting 
most  of  their  trade-goods  from  Hudson  Bay,  just  as  in 
Verendrye's  day. 

This  trade  in  corn  with  the  Assiniboins  continued  un- 
til after  the  year  1865  and  was  only  ended  by  the  placing 
of  this  tribe  on  reservations.  Henry  mentions  the  trade 
in  1804.  Henry  (p.  402)  :  "This  afternoon  the  As- 
siniboins, old  Crane  and  his  party,  left  on  their  return 


182  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

home  to  their  camp  at  Moose  Mt.,  all  provided  with 
horses,  loaded  with  corn." 

Larpenteur  (p.  255)  :  "At  this  time  a  good  strong 
peace  had  been  made  with  the  Assiniboins  by  the  Gros 
Ventres,  Mandans  and  Rees,  and  in  the  fall  they  would 
visit  and  trade  corn. ' ' 

Boiler  (p.  122),  Assiniboins:  "One  old  fellow  took 
the  lead  dragging  a  broken  down  bay  horse  heavily 
packed  with  corn,  the  gift  of  his  Gros  Ventres  friends. ' ' 

Such  then  was  the  trade  of  the  Mandans  and  Hidatsas 
with  the  tribes  in  the  plains  north  of  the  Missouri  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century.  At  this  same  period  the 
Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  were  engaged  in  a  very 
similar  trade  with  the  tribes  in  the  plains  southwest  of 
the  river  —  the  hunters  of  the  Black  Hills  region  of 
western  Dakota  and  of  the  plains  of  eastern  Wyoming 
and  Montana. 

Larocque  (1805)  met  the  Rocky  Mountain  Indians 
(Crows  and  some  Shoshonis)  at  the  Hidatsa  and  Man- 
dan  villages  and  accompanied  them  on  their  return 
journey  to  their  own  country,  west  of  Powder  River  and 
south  of  the  Yellowstone.  On  p.  22  of  his  journal 4  he 
describes  the  arrival  of  these  Indians  at  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri villages  on  June  25, 1805.  ' '  Tuesday  25th.  About 
one  in  the  afternoon  the  Rock  Mountain  Indians  ar- 
rived, they  encamped  at  a  little  distance  from  the  vil- 
lage with  the  warriors,  to  the  number  of  645,  passed 
through  the  village  on  horseback  with  their  shields  & 
other  warlike  implements,  they  proceeded  to  the  little 

*  Journal  of  Larocque.  Publications  of  the  Canadian  Archives, 
no.  3,  Ottawa,  1910. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  183 

village,  Souliers,  and  then  to  the  Mandans  and  returned. 
There  did  not  remain  20  person  in  the  village,  men,  wo- 
men and  children  all  went  to  the  newly  arrived  camp 
carrying  a  quantity  of  Corn  raw  and  cooked  which  they 
traded  for  Leggins,  Robes  and  dried  meat.  There  are  20 
lodges  of  the  snake  Indians  &  about  40  men.  The  other 
bands  [Crows]  are  more  numerous." 

On  the  following  day  the  Hidatsa  and  Mandan  war- 
riors visited  the  camp  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Indians 
and  gave  a  similar  war-parade.  The  trading  then  started 
in  earnest;  but  Larocque  does  not  give  us  any  account 
of  this.  Farther  on,  on  p.  66,  he  says:  "They  have 
never  had  any  traders  with  them,  they  get  their  battle 
Guns,  ammunitions  etc  from  the  Mandans  &  Big  Bellys 
in  exchange  for  horses,  Robes,  Leggins  &  shirts,  they 
likewise  purchase  corn,  Pumpkins  &  tobacco  from  the 
Big  Bellys  as  they  do  not  cultivate  the  ground." 

After  the  Sioux  had  occupied  the  Black  Hills  country 
and  the  Powder  River  region,  the  Crows  experienced 
great  difficulty  in  reaching  the  villages  of  the  Hidatsas 
and  Mandans;  but  they  often  got  through,  and  their 
trade  with  these  villages  continued,  to  some  extent,  long 
after  trading-posts  had  been  established  in  their  own 
vicinity.  Indeed,  they  did  not  give  up  these  visits  alto- 
gether until  they  were  put  upon  reservations. 

Mooney 5  says  of  the  Kiowas :  ' '  They  have  more  to 
say  of  the  Arikara  than  of  the  others,  probably  because 
then,  as  now,  they  were  the  largest  of  the  three  tribes, 

s  Mooney 's  "Calendar  History  of  the  Kiowa,"  in  17th  Report, 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  part  i. 


184  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

and  also,  as  the  Kiowa  themselves  say,  because  the  Ari- 
kara  lived  nearest." 

As  early  at  least  as  1719  the  Plains  tribes  had  pro- 
cured some  horses,  and  they  soon  began  to  make  raids 
and  trading  expeditions  toward  the  New  Mexican  fron- 
tier. By  1740  they  were  making  regular  visits  on  horse- 
back to  the  villages  on  the  Missouri,  to  trade  meat,  robes, 
horses,  and  Spanish  goods  for  corn,  dried  pumpkins,  to- 
bacco, and  English  and  French  goods,  particularly  Hud- 
son Bay  guns  and  ammunition.  The  Crow  trade  at  the 
Mandan  and  Hidatsa  villages  continued  after  the  year 
1800,  but  long  before  that  date  the  regular  visits  of  the 
Kiowas  to  the  Arikara  villages  were  discontinued,  owing 
to  the  growing  hostility  of  the  Sioux.  Thus  Trudeau 
(pp.  40  and  45)  informs  us  that  in  July- August,  1795, 
the  Kiowas  and  two  other  Black  Hills  tribes  (apparently 
the  Prairie  Apaches  and  Arapahoes)  were  hovering  in 
the  Plains,  west  of  the  Arikara  villages,  not  daring  to 
come  nearer.  Trudeau  also  informs  us  that  the  Arikaras 
had  been  making  raids  on  the  Kiowas  —  a  clear  indica- 
tion that  the  Sioux  had  already  engaged  in  their  de- 
testable work  of  stirring  up  war  between  peoples  that 
had  lived  on  terms  of  friendship  for  generations.  After 
being  cut  off  in  this  manner  from,  the  Arikara  villages, 
the  Kiowas  continued  their  trade  with  that  tribe  through 
the  medium  of  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes.  A  few 
years  ago  there  were  several  old  people  among  the  South- 
ern Cheyennes,  since  dead,  who  could  remember  this 
trade.  The  Cheyennes  would  take  horses,  meat,  and 
robes  to  the  Arikara,  Mandan,  and  Hidatsa  villages  and 
exchange  them  for  corn,  dried  pumpkins,  tobacco,  guns, 


185 


and  European  goods.  They  would  then  take  these  ar- 
ticles out  to  the  Black  Hills  or,  in  later  years,  down  to 
the  Platte,  above  its  forks,  and  meet  the  Kiowas,  and 
perhaps  some  Comanches,  in  a  trading-fair  to  which 
these  southern  Indians  brought  large  numbers  of  horses 
and  some  Spanish  goods,  particularly  the  gaudy  striped 
blankets  which  the  northern  Indians  so  highly  prized. 

After  the  Cheyennes  moved  into  the  Plains  they  be- 
gan to  trade  at  the  Arikara  and  Mandan  villages.  Some 
of  the  Cheyenne  bands  continued  to  plant  a  little  corn, 
tobacco,  and  perhaps  some  vegetables  until  after  the  year 
1800,  probably  on  the  lower  Cheyenne  River,  where  they 
often  encamped  in  spring  and  fall  on  their  return  from 
hunting  in  the  Plains.  Perrin  du  Lac  informs  us  that 
the  Sioux  made  a  practice  of  robbing  the  Cheyenne  corn 
and  tobacco  patches  while  that  tribe  was  away  hunting 
in  the  Plains.  The  Cheyennes  therefore  could  not  de- 
pend much  on  their  own  crops,  even  as  a  partial  supply, 
and  made  regular  journeys  to  the  Arikara  and  Mandan 
villages  to  trade  for  corn,  pumpkins,  and  tobacco.  The 
Sioux,  playing  their  usual  part  as  trouble-makers,  fre- 
quently stirred  up  the  Mandans  or  Arikaras  against  the 
Cheyennes,  or  the  Cheyennes  against  these  tribes,  and 
broke  up  the  trade.  But  if  the  Cheyennes  were  at  war 
with  the  Mandans  they  were  probably  at  peace  with  the 
Arikaras,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  bickering  almost  every 
spring  and  autumn  found  large  camps  of  Cheyennes 
coming  in  to  trade  at  one  of  the  villages  on  the  Missouri. 

The  Sioux,  though  among  the  best  customers  of  the 
agricultural  tribes,  were  never  really  their  friends  and 
could  never  be  trusted.  They  were  the  Picts  of  the  Up- 


186  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

per  Missouri,  continually  harassing  the  village  dwellers. 
It  is  probable  that  they  procured  as  much  corn  by  plun- 
der and  extortion  as  in  honest  trade.  The  western  Sioux, 
those  of  the  Missouri,  occasionally  attempted  to  settle 
down  to  an  agricultural  life,  but  they  never  persisted  for 
any  length  of  time.6 

The  Arikaras  were  probably  most  under  the  influence 
of  the  Sioux  and  suffered  most  from  plundering  and  in- 
timidation. However,  they  appear  to  have  reaped  some 
benefits  from  this  very  trying  intimacy.  Trudeau  is  the 
first  to  give  some  account  of  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween these  two  tribes.  In  his  journal,  1795,  he  says 
(p.  47)  :  "The  Ricaras  and  this  Sioux  Nation  [the  'Ta 
Corpa'  band  of  Sioux7]  live  together  peacefully.  The 
former  receive  them  in  order  to  obtain  guns,  clothes,  hats, 
kettles,  cloths,  etc.,  which  are  given  them  in  exchange 
for  horses.  They  humor  them  through  fear  and  to  avoid 
making  too  many  enemies  among  the  Sioux,  who  would 
inevitably  overpower  them. 

"The  last  frequent  the  Ricaras  and  make  them  great 
promises  to  live  with  them  in  peace  and  harmony,  in 
order  that  they  may  smoke  their  tobacco,  eat  their  In- 

«  The  Minniconjou  Sioux,  according  to  the  information  given 
by  some  members  of  the  band,  secured  seed  from  the  Arikaras 
almost  sixty  years  ago  and  have  raised  this  corn  ever  since.  The 
Yanktons  appear  to  have  raised  some  corn  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Missouri,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  that  now  bears  their 
name,  as  early  at  least  as  the  year  1850.  They  were  always 
more  inclined  to  an  agricultural  life  than  the  other  Missouri 
Eiver  Sioux,  probably  owing  to  their  closer  connection  with  the 
Santees  and  other  eastern  bands  that  practiced  agriculture. 

7  ' '  Tarcoehparh ' '  —  given  by  Lewis  and  Clark  as  one  of  the 
three  bands  of  the  Minniconjou  Sioux. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  187 

dian  wheat  and  hunt  freely  the  wild  oxen  and  beaver  on 
their  lands  during  the  fall  and  winter.  In  spring  they 
withdraw  to  the  other  shore  [i.  e.,  the  east  bank  of  the 
Missouri],  from  whence  they  usually  return  to  steal 
their  horses  and  sometimes  to  kill  them." 

Perrin  du  Lac  gives  a  very  similar  account  of  the  re- 
lations of  the  Sioux  with  the  Arikaras  and  other  tribes 
with  which  they  were  on  so-called  friendly  terms. 

Lewis  and  Clark  (p.  144)  Arikaras:  "They  claim 
no  land  except  that  on  which  their  village  stands,  and 
the  fields  which  they  cultivate.  Though  they  are  the 
oldest  inhabitants,  they  may  properly  be  considered  the 
farmers  or  tenants  at  will  of  that  lawless,  savage,  and 
rapacious  race,  the  Sioux  Teton,  who  rob  them  of  their 
horses,  plunder  their  gardens  and  fields  and  sometimes 
murder  them  without  opposition.  .  .  They  maintain 
a  partial  trade  with  their  oppressors,  the  Tetons,  to 
whom  they  barter  horses,  mules,  corn,  beans  and  a  species 
of  tobacco  which  they  cultivate."  And,  p.  165:  The 
Arikaras  obtain  peltries  "not  only  by  their  own  hunt- 
ing, but  in  exchange  for  corn  from  their  less  civilized 
neighbors  .  .  .  being  under  the  influence  of  the 
Sioux,  who  exchange  the  goods  they  get  from  the  British 
for  Ricara  corn." 

Henry  (p.  339)  states  that  when  the  Sioux  came  to 
attack  the  Hidatsas  they  "compelled  the  Mandans  to 
provide  them  with  corn,  beans,  squashes,  etc.,  for  their 
sustenance." 

Mrs.  Holley 8  tells  us  that  in  1843  the  Mandans  and 
Arikaras  left  Primeau  in  charge  of  their  abandoned 

s  Once  their  Home,  or  Our  Legacy  from  the  Dalcotas,  p.  179. 


188  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

summer  villages  and  corn  caches.  The  Sioux  came,  and 
in  spite  of  Primeau's  protests  and  warnings,  broke  into 
the  caches  and  robbed  them. 

From  the  time  when  the  Sioux  first  made  their  ap- 
pearance on  the  Missouri  the  village  Indiansi  appear  to 
have  attempted  from  time  to  time  to  combine  against 
them.  Thus  Lewis  and  Clark  tell  us  that  in  1804  the 
Arikaras  sent  embassadors  to  the  Mandans  to  arrange 
peace.  On  their  way  home  the  embassadors  were  way- 
laided  and  whipped  with  quirts  by  the  Sioux.  The 
Sioux  then  induced  a  number  of  young  Arikaras  to  join 
them  in  a  raid  on  the  Mandans,  and  thus  set  the  two 
tribes  to  fighting  again.  The  same  authors  mention 
another  trick  used  by  the  Sioux  in  stirring  up  trouble 
between  these  village  tribes.  The  Sioux  made  a  raid  on 
the  Mandans  and  scattered  some  Arikara  corn  on  the 
ground,  "to  induce  a  belief  that  they  were  Ricaras." 
Even  as  late  as  1867  we  find  an  Indian  agent  reporting : 
"The  Arickarees,  Gros  Ventres  and  Mandans  are  at  Ft. 
Berthold  in  a  truly  pitiable  condition.  .  .  They  are 
hemmed  in  by  all  bands  of  Sioux:  by  those  we  call 
friendly  as  well  as  by  the  hostile  bands.  .  .  The 
Sioux  have  killed  a  number  of  them  this  spring,  and  are 
very  vindictive  toward  them. ' ' 9 

Hay  den  (p.  352)  :  "The  second  market  for  their 
grain  is  with  several  bands  of  Dakotas,  who  are  at  peace 
with  them.  These  Indians  make  their  annual  visit  to 
the  Arikaras,  bringing  buffalo  robes,  skins,  meat,  etc., 
which  they  exchange  for  corn." 

In  the  fall  of  1853,  2500  Sioux  came  to  the  Arikaras 

9  Eeport  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1867,  p.  346. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  189 

to  trade  meat  and  robes  for  corn,  dried  squashes,  and 
beans,  and  to  steal  whatever  they  could  lay  hands  upon. 
They  then  "left  for  the  buffalo  country,  taking  care  to 
set  the  prairies  on  fire  in  order  to  prevent  the  buffalo 
from  visiting  the  Ree  country  —  an  act  of  dastardly  ma- 
lignancy, as  it  deprived  the  Arickarees  of  the  means  of 
support  for  their  horses  and  cattle. ' ' 10 

Boiler  speaks  of  the  distrust  the  village  tribes  felt  for 
even  the  "friendly"  bands  of  Sioux  (p.  159)  :  "They 
expected  .  .  .  tidings  of  the  whereabouts  of  the 
Blackfoot  and  Uncpapa  bands  of  Sioux,  who  being  just 
now  on  friendly  terms  were  likely,  since  the  corn  was 
gathered  in,  to  visit  the  Rees  and  Gros  Ventres  to  main- 
tain the  entente  cordiale."  This  author  also  describes 
the  straits  to  which  the  Sioux  were  often  reduced  during 
a  hard  winter  and  how  on  such  occasions  they  sought 
peace  with  the  agricultural  tribes.  Boiler,  p.  209 : 
"Many  were  obliged  to  kill  their  horses  to  avoid  starva- 
tion, and  there  were  rumors  of  the  Medicine  Bear's  band 
desiring  to  make  peace  with  the  Rees  and  Gros  Ventres 
in  order  to  procure  corn."  And  again  (p.  210)  : 
"Small  party  of  Yanctowahs,  numbering  about  sixteen 
lodges,  came  to  the  Gros  Ventres  to  make  peace  and  re- 
lieve their  pressing  necessities  by  trading  corn. ' '  Final- 
ly (p.  262)  :  "The  Sioux  expressed  themselves  very 
anxious  to  make  peace  with  the  Rees  and  Gros  Ventres 
as  they  invariably  do  when  starving,  in  order  to  trade 
corn,  but  the  latter  placed  no  confidence  in  their  Punic 
faith." 

In  early  times  the  Mandans  and  their  agricultural 

10  Pacific  Railroad  Surveys,  v.  i,  p.  265. 


190  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

neighbors  sometimes  went  out  into  the  Plains  to  meet  the 
hunting  tribes  and  trade  with  them.  In  1804  Henry  ac- 
companied such  a  party  of  Mandans  and  Hidatsas  out 
into  the  plains  to  meet  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes. 
The  party  consisted  of  a  large  force  of  armed  warriors 
and  many  women,  some  with  their  children,  bringing 
loads  of  corn,  beans,  and  dried  squashes  to  trade  to  the 
Cheyennes.  The  women,  says  Henry,  "had  their  horses 
loaded  with  corn,  beans,  etc.,  themselves  and  children 
astraddle  over  all,  like  farmers  going  to  the  mill. ' '  And 
after  reaching  the  Cheyenne  camp,  "the  women  were 
also  busy  exchanging  their  corn  for  leather,  robes, 
smocks  —  as  if  at  a  country  fair. ' ' 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  of  this  trade  in  corn,  beans, 
squashes,  and  European  goods  with  the  hunting  tribes 
of  the  plains  came  to  the  villages  of  the  Mandans,  Hi- 
datsas, and  Arikaras.  The  agricultural  tribes  farther 
south,  in  Nebraska  —  Ponkas,  Omahas,  Otoes,  and  Paw- 
nees —  do  not  appear  to  have  had  any  regular  trade  with 
the  Plains  Indians  in  early  years,  either  in  agricultural 
products  or  European  goods.  One  reason  for  this  con- 
dition of  affairs  was  that  the  village  tribes  of  the  Ne- 
braska region  were  constantly  at  war  \vith  the  tribes  in 
the  Plains.  Another  reason  was  that,  up  to  the  year 
1820,  these  village  Indians  rarely  had  sufficient  Euro- 
pean goods  to  supply  their  own  needs  and,  setting  aside 
their  usual  attitude  of  bitter  hostility  toward  the  Ne- 
braska tribes,  the  Plains  Indians  preferred  to  take  the 
longer  journey  to  the  Ankara  or  Mandan  villages,  where 
they  could  procure  not  only  corn  and  vegetables  but  also 
guns,  ammunition,  kettles,  and  whatever  else  they  had 
need  of. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  191 

The  Omahas  had  an  irregular  trade  in  corn  with  their 
kinsmen  the  Ponkas,  who  sometimes  planted  fields  of 
their  own,  but  more  often  preferred  to  trade  robes  and 
meat  to  the  Omahas  for  what  corn  and  vegetables  they 
required.  Dunbar  states  that  the  Pawnees  in  early 
times  traded  corn  to  the  Mandans :  a  surprising  assertion 
which  may  have  been  based  on  some  vague  tradition  that 
the  Pawnees  supplied  seed  to  the  Mandans  when  that 
tribe  first  arrived  on  the  Missouri.  There  is  certainly 
no  mention  of  such  a  trade  during  the  historical  period 
in  any  of  our  sources  of  information. 

2.     Trade  with  the  Whites 

Besides  their  trade  with  the  tribes  in  the  Plains,  the 
agricultural  tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  early  de- 
veloped a  trade  in  corn  and  vegetables  with  the  white 
traders  and  explorers.  To  the  Indians  this  trade  was 
certainly  a  great  benefit,  as  it  enabled  them  to  procure 
much-coveted  articles  of  European  make;  on  the  other 
hand  it  seems  highly  probable  that  the  white  explorers 
and  traders  would  have  found  it  impossible  to  carry  on 
their  operations  without  the  supplies  of  food  obtained 
from  the  village  Indians.  That  this  trade  was  established 
with  the  first  coming  of  the  whites  and  that  it  grew  to 
large  proportions  may  be  easily  demonstrated. 

Like  the  non-agricultural  tribes  of  Indians,  the  whites 
who  lived  in  the  Indian  country  always  had  a  craving 
for  vegetable  food,  especially  corn,  and  never  overlooked 
an  opportunity  for  obtaining  a  supply.  They  always 
took  with  them  as  much  corn  as  they  could  conveniently 
carry  on  their  journey  into  the  Indian  country.  Mack- 


192  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

inac  Island,  in  the  straights  between  Lake  Huron  and 
Lake  Michigan,  was  a  famous  corn  market  of  the  early 
fur-traders.  The  great  town  of  the  Sacs  on  the  Fox- 
Wisconsin  River  route  to  the  Mississippi,  was  another 
center  of  this  trade.  Carver  (p.  24)  says:  "In  their 
plantations  which  lie  adjacent  to  their  houses  and  which 
are  neatly  laid  out,  they  raise  great  quantities  of  Indian 
corn,  beans,  melons,  etc.  For  this  place  is  esteemed  the 
best  market  for  traders  to  furnish  themselves  with  pro- 
visions of  any  kind  within  800  miles. ' '  Prairie  du  Chien 
on  the  Upper  Mississippi  was  another  center  of  the  corn 
trade  in  early  times;  while  on  the  Upper  Missouri  the 
villages  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  Arikaras,  and  Omahas 
were  the  corn  markets  for  parties  going  into  the  plains 
or  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  Verendrye  in  1738-39  pro- 
cured large  quantities  of  corn  and  meal  from  the  Man- 
dans.  Trudeau  (1795)  is  the  next  to  mention  this  trade 
definitely.  He  says  (p.  27)  that  the  prices  demanded  by 
the  Arikaras  for  their  corn  and  other  provisions  had 
been  greatly  increased  through  the  foolish  action  of  sev- 
eral French  traders  who  came  among  these  Indians  in 
1793  and  "paid  the  Indians  three  prices  for  food,  a 
habit  and  rule  which  took  such  deep  root  in  the  minds 
of  these  people  that  had  I  not  taken  the  precaution  to 
provide  myself  with  dried  meats  from  the  Cheyennes 
and  Sioux,  who  sell  them  more  cheaply,  I  should  have 
run  great  risk  of  fasting." 

Henry  also  speaks  of  this  trade  (p.  328)  :  "We  pur- 
chased sweet  corn,  beans,  meal  and  various  other  trifles. 
Having  bought  all  we  required,  which  was  3  horse  loads, 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  193 

we  were  plagued  by  the  women  and  girls  who  continued 
to  bring  bags  and  dishes  full  of  different  kinds  of 
produce. ' ' 

Bradbury  (1811)  mentions  the  trade  with  the  Omahas: 
"We  found  a  considerable  number  of  the  Indians  as- 
sembled to  trade.  They  gave  jerked  buffalo  meat,  tallow, 
corn  and  marrow"  (p.  87). 

The  Oto  missionary,  Merrill,  states  in  his  diary  that 
in  1834  a  trader  named  Edwards  told  him  that  the 
Omahas  traded  corn  to  the  fur-traders  at  the  rate  of  one 
bushel  of  corn  for  one  yard  of  calico,  the  trade-price  of 
this  cloth  being  one  dollar  per  yard  (p.  173). 

Lewis  and  Clark  were  perhaps  the  heaviest  purchasers 
of  corn  of  all  the  whites  who  visited  the  Mandans  and 
Hidatsas  in  early  years.  The  good  fortune  of  these  ex- 
plorers fixed  their  winter-camp  at  the  villages  of  these 
agricultural  tribes,  a  location  which  certainly  prevented 
much  suffering,  if  not  actual  death,  among  their  men. 
The  following  series  of  short  extracts  from  the  journals 
of  the  expedition  will  give  a  good  idea  as  to  the  extent 
of  their  purchases  from  day  to  day.  Some  of  their 
larger  acquisitions  of  corn,  running  up  into  hundreds 
of  bushels,  have  already  been  referred  to. 

Lewis  and  Clark  (Nov.  16)  :  "An  Indian  came 
down  with  4  buffalo  robes  and  some  corn,  which  he 
offered  for  a  pistol,  but  was  refused."  Mandans  (Dec. 
21)  :  "A  woman  brought  her  child  with  an  abscess  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  back,  and  offered  as  much  corn  as 
she  could  carry  for  some  medicine.  .  ."  (Dec.  22)  : 
"A  number  of  squaws  and  men  dressed  like  squaws 
brought  corn  to  trade  for  small  articles  with  the  men." 


194  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

(Jan.  5)  :  "The  Indians  continue  to  purchase  repairs 
[i.  e.,  pay  for  blacksmith  work]  with  grain  of  different 
kinds."  (Jan.  16)  :  Kagohami  visited  us  and  brought 
us  a  little  corn."  (Jan.  20)  :  "A  number  of  Indians 
visited  us  with  corn  to  exchange."  (Feb.  5):  "A 
number  of  the  Indians  came  with  corn  for  the  black- 
smith .  .  .  who  now  being  provided  with  coal  has 
become  one  of  our  greatest  resources  for  procuring 
grain.  .  .  The  blacksmith  cut  up  an  old  eambouse, 
of  metal,  we  obtained  for  each  piece  of  4  inches  square, 
7  or  8  gallons  of  corn  from  the  Indians  who  were  de- 
lighted with  the  exchange."  (Feb.  18):  "Our  stock 
of  meat  is  exhausted,  so  that  we  must  confine  ourselves 
to  a  vegetable  diet.  .  .  For  this,  however,  we  are  at 
no  loss,  since  both  on  this  and  the  following  day  our 
blacksmith  got  large  quantities  of  corn  from  the  In- 
dians .  .  ."  (March  13)  :  " Many  Indians,  who  are 
so  anxious  for  battle  axes  that  our  smiths  have  not  a 
moment's  leisure,  and  produce  us  an  abundance  of 
corn. ' ' 

Henry  (p.  325)  mentions  the  eagerness  of  the  Indians 
to  trade  their  corn,  etc. :  "They  soon  asked  us  to  trade 
and  brought  buffalo  robes,  corn,  beans,  dried  squashes, 
etc." 

The  following  extracts  refer  to  the  early  trade  with 
the  Arikaras. 

Manuel  Lisa  at  the  Arikara  villages:  "The  women 
then  appeared  with  bags  of  corn  with  which  to  open 
trade  but  an  Indian  rushed  forward  and  cut  the  bags 
with  his  knife."11 


American  Fur  Trade,  v.  i,  p.  117. 


195 


The  winter  spent  by  Maximilian  at  Fort  Clark,  among 
the  Mandans,  would  certainly  have  been  a  disastrous  one 
for  the  whites  had  it  not  been  for  the  supply  of  corn 
which  the  post-trader  had  secured  from  the  Indians. 
This  corn  was  for  much  of  the  time  the  only  barrier  be- 
tween the  men  at  the  fort  and  starvation.  Maximilian 
(p.  36)  :  "A  high  stage  was  stretched  in  the  court  yard 
where  a  part  of  the  stock  of  maize  was  deposited.  .  . 
We  were  forced  to  live  on  hard  dried  meat  and  boiled 
maize."  The  engages  at  the  fort:  "The  poor  fellows 
had  no  meat  and  had  lived  on  maize  boiled  in  water" 
(p.  48).  "We  had  nothing  but  maize  and  beans  and 
the  water  from  the  river"  (p.  58).  "We  have  lived  on 
nothing  but  maize  boiled  in  water,  and  this  was  really 
the  case  with  many  persons  at  this  place"  (p.  61).  "We 
subsisted  entirely  on  maize  broth  and  maize  bread"  (p. 
63).  "As  our  supply  of  beans  was  very  low  our  diet 
consisted  almost  exclusively  of  maize  boiled  in  water" 
(P-  76). 

That  this  dependence  of  the  fur-traders  upon  Indian 
corn  was  not  confined  to  the  posts  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  agricultural  villages,  but  that  large 
quantities  were  shipped  to  the  more  distant  posts  on  the 
Missouri  and  Yellowstone  is  evident  from  the  references 
we  find  to  such  shipments. 

Maximilian  (p.  82)  :  "On  the  15th  of  April  Picotte 
arrived  with  about  twenty  men  and  had  his  boat  laden 
with  maize  which  he  was  to  carry  to  Fort  Union." 
Maximilian  (p.  211)  :  "A  boat  laden  with  maize  be- 
longing to  Mr.  Campbell  here  passed  us,  it  had  left  the 
Mandan  villages  a  fortnight  before." 


196  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

We  have  an  account  of  this  corn  trade  in  Hayden,  in 
considerable  detail ;  and  Matthews  also  mentions  it.  In 
the  American  Fur  Trade  there  is  a  statement  which 
shows  the  extent  of  the  trade  and  the  dependence  of  the 
traders  on  corn. 

Hayden  (p.  352)  :  "Whatever  is  concealed  [cached] 
in  this  way  is  intended  to  remain  in  the  ground  until  the 
succeeding  spring,  at  which  time,  the  buffalo  usually  be- 
ing far  distant,  it  is  their  only  source  of  food.  Besides 
the  great  advantage  acruing  to  themselves  over  other 
wandering  tribes,  by  tilling  the  soil,  they  have  two  mar- 
kets for  their  surplus  produce.  The  first  is  the  fort  of 
the  American  Fur  Co.  located  near  their  village,  at 
which  they  trade  from  500  to  800  bushels  in  a  season. 
This  trade  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  is  carried  on  by 
the  women,  who  bring  the  corn  by  panfuls  and  the 
squash  in  strings  and  receive  in  exchange  knives,  hoes, 
combs,  beads,  paint  etc.,  also  tobacco,  ammunition  and 
other  useful  articles  for  their  husbands.  In  this  way 
each  family  is  supplied  with  all  the  smaller  articles 
needed  for  a  comfortable  existence;  and  though  the  wo- 
men perform  all  the  labor,  they  are  compensated  by  hav- 
ing their  full  share  of  the  profits." 

"The  harvest  generally  took  place  in  October.  The 
corn  fields  were  unfenced  and  were  frequent  objects  of 
raids  by  hostile  tribes.  The  traders  made  extensive  use 
of  the  maize  and  all  the  larger  posts  had  mills  to  grind 
it."12 

"In  favorable  years  they  had  good  harvests  and  were 
able  to  supply  other  Indians  and  to  their  traders  be- 

12  American  Fur  Trade,  p.  807. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  197 

sides  keeping  all  they  wanted  for  their  own  use"  (Mat- 
thews, p.  12). 

An  episode  in  the  early  fur-trade  which  illustrates  the 
quantity  of  corn  the  whites  were  able  to  obtain  from  the 
Mandans  and  their  neighbors,  was  the  establishment  of  a 
whiskey  still  at  Fort  Union,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, at  the  time  when  the  government's  agents  on  the 
Lower  Missouri  were  very  active,  making  it  very  dan- 
gerous for  the  American  Fur  Company  to  attempt  to 
smuggle  liquor  up  the  river  in  its  steamboats. 

American  Fur  Trade  (p.  358)  quotes  a  report  from 
Fort  Union  describing  this  experiment:  "Our  manu- 
facture nourishes  admirably.  We  only  want  corn  to 
keep  us  going.  The  Mandan  corn  yields  badly  but 
makes  a  fine  sweet  liquor. ' '  Wyeth,  a  rival  trader,  gave 
information  to  the  government  agents  and  an  investiga- 
tion was  ordered.  The  men  at  Fort  Union  coolly  ex- 
plained that  the  still  had  been  set  up  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  scientific  experiments  to  determine  whether 
a  good  wine  might  not  be  made  from  wild  fruits  which 
abounded  on  the  Upper  Missouri ;  and  their  explanation 
was  accepted  by  the  government;  but  the  fur  company 
was  so  badly  frightened  that  it  ordered  the  whiskey  still 
abandoned. 


VI— THE  SACEED  CHAEACTEE  OF  COEN 

1.      THE  CORN  AND  THE  BUFFALO.      2.      CORN  ORIGIN 
MYTHS 

Primitive  peoples  have  always  been  strongly  drawn 
toward  the  worship  of  their  principal  sources  of  food 
supply,  and  among  the  Indians  of  North  America  this 
tendency  has  been  perhaps  one  of  the  most  marked  char- 
acteristics of  the  religious  thought  of  the  race.  The 
hunting  tribes  looked  upon  the  game  animals  on  which 
they  subsisted  as  sacred,  many  of  their  religious  rites 
were  intended  to  procure  the  aid  of  these  animals;  and 
as  the  people  considered  themselves  closely  related  to  the 
animals  that  gave  them  life,  they  often  organized  them- 
selves into  clans  or  gentes  named  after  these  animals. 
Thus  the  Elk  Gens  would  be  kindred  of  the  elk,  would 
bear  the  elk  totem,  practice  elk  rites,  and  have  a  tabu  on 
the  eating  of  certain  parts  of  this  animal.  In  the  same 
way,  among  the  sedentary  agricultural  tribes  the  plants 
cultivated  were  looked  upon  as  sacred.  This  was  par- 
ticularly true  of  the  corn,  always  the  main  resource,  and 
often  considered  the  mother  of  the  whole  tribe  or  of  cer- 
tain clans  or  gentes  within  the  tribe.  Corn  names  for 
men  and  women,  indicating  a  close  kinship  of  the  people 
with  the  corn,  are  found  in  all  of  the  agricultural  tribes 
of  the  Upper  Missouri  area,  as  also  among  the  Sioux; 
corn  tabus  are  found  in  at  least  three  of  these  tribes ;  but 
we  do  not  find  any  trace  of  the  corn  clans  or  gentes, 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  199 

which  were  a  common  feature  of  the  social  organization 
of  the  more  advanced  agricultural  tribes  in  the  South- 
west and  on  the  Lower  Mississippi.1 

The  village  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri  depended 
largely  on  the  buffalo  as  a  means  of  support  and  con- 
sidered that  animal  sacred;  but  the  corn  also  played  an 
important  part  in  the  lives  of  the  people,  and  we  find 
evidence  that  at  least  certain  divisions  in  some  of  the 
tribes  looked  upon  the  corn  as  more  sacred  than  the 
buffalo.  We  also  find  old  corn  rites  changed  into  buffalo 
rites,  indicating  that  at  an  earlier  period  the  corn  held 
the  higher  position  in  the  people's  estimation.  Corn  has 
a  prominent  place  in  the  creation  traditions,  myths,  and 
tales  of  all  of  the  agricultural  tribes  of  this  region ;  and 
although  many  of  the  old  customs  and  beliefs  have  been 
long  since  discontinued  and  forgotten  we  still  find  quite 
an  extensive  body  of  corn  rites,  beliefs,  and  practices. 

The  Pawnees,  between  whose  culture  and  that  of  the 
Pueblos  of  the  Southwest  some  similarity  exists,  are  said 
to  have  had  the  largest  volume  of  ceremonial  observances, 
connected  with  the  corn  and  its  cultivation,  of  any  tribe 
in  this  area.  As  the  Arikaras  are  really  a  branch  of  the 
Pawnees,  we  would  naturally  expect  them  to  have  corn 
rites  similar  to  those  of  the  Pawnees;  but  we  find  that 
the  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  two  peoples  have  very 
little  in  common.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Arikaras  have  been  living  among  Siouan  tribes  for 

1  The  large  number  of  corn  elans  among  the  various  Pueblo 
tribes  is  particularly  noticeable.  The  Pueblos  of  Acoma  had  no 
less  than  five  of  these:  the  Bed,  Yellow,  Blue,  Brown,  and  White 
corn  clans.  These  clans  were  grouped  together  into  a  fratry 
known  as  the  Corn  People. 


200  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

at  least  two  hundred  years,  and  that  their  religious  con- 
cepts, their  rites,  and  their  mode  of  life  have  been  pro- " 
foundly  affected  hy  their  long  intimacy  with  these  neigh- 
bors of  alien  stock.  Of  the  Siouan  tribes  of  this  region, 
the  Mandans  and  the  Omahas  appear  to  have  had  the 
most  highly  developed  body  of  rituals  and  beliefs  relat- 
ing to  the  corn  and  its  cultivation. 

The  religion  of  the  Pawnees  was  a  star  cult  overlaid 
with  a  very  highly  developed  system  of  ritualistic  prac- 
tices. Their  name  for  the  Creator  was  Tirawa.  His 
wife  was  the  goddess  Atira,  a  name  meaning  literally 
' '  Comes-f rom-Corn  "  or  "Born-from-Com."  In  the  be- 
ginning Tirawa  tells  the  Evening  Star  —  Bright  Star  — 
to  stand  in  the  west.  She  is  to  be  "the  Mother  of  all 
things."  Great  Star  —  the  Morning  Star  —  is  to  stand 
in  the  east.  He  is  to  be  a  warrior.  Bright  Star  has  a 
garden  in  the  western  skies  in  which  all  things  to  be 
placed  on  earth  are  created:  all  animals  and  birds,  and 
even  the  sun's  fire  (light).2  After  the  earth  is  made  by 
Tirawa  himself,  all  of  these  things  are  placed  upon  the 
earth  by  the  four  servants  of  Bright  Star :  Wind,  Cloud, 
Lightning,  and  Thunder.  Great  Star  comes  from  his 
position  in  the  east  and  marries  Bright  Star  in  her 
garden,  and  from  this  marriage  a  girl  is  born  in  winter. 
The  Sun  marries  the  Moon  and  they  have  a  son  born  in 
summer.  These  first  two  human  beings  are  now  placed 
upon  earth,  where  they  marry.  Other  stars  create  other 
human  beings  and  place  them  on  earth.  Each  pair,  man 

2  The  altar  which  was  erected  in  every  Pawnee  lodge  was  given 
the  same  name  as  this  garden  of  the  Evening  Star  in  the  west: 
wiharu,  "the  place  of  the  wonderful  things." 


MANDAN  SOFT  WHITE  CORN 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  203 

and  wife,  is  given  a  sacred  bundle  by  the  star  that 
created  them,  and  in  this  bundle  is  always  an  ear  of 
sacred  corn.  In  one  of  the  versions  of  this  creation 
myth  we  are  told  that  all  of  these  peoples  spoke  the 
same  language;  that  the  people  who  lived  in  the  south- 
west had  white  sacred  corn,  those  in  the  northwest  yel- 
low, those  in  the  northeast  black,  and  those  in  the  south- 
east red.3  It  will  be  noted  that  Tirawa,  the  Creator, 
was  far  away  in  the  heavens  and  had  no  direct  inter- 
course with  the  people  on  earth.  The  Pawnees  looked 
upon  him  with  awe  and  dread.  Their  dealings  with  him 
were  mostly  carried  on  through  the  medium  of  the  be- 
loved Bright  Star  who  stood  in  the  west  and  who  was 
represented  on  earth,  symbolically  at  least,  by  the 
Mother  Corn  —  the  sacred  white  corn,  which  the  people 
kept  in  their  sacred  bundles,  on  the  altars  in  the  lodges, 
and  which  they  brought  into  so  many  of  their  rites. 

Although  the  Arikara  traditions  of  the  present  day 
are  very  different  from  those  of  the  Pawnees,  we  find 
among  them  some  traces  of  this  older  star  cult.  Thus 
we  are  told  in  some  of  the  Arikara  creation  traditions 
that  people  were  created  by  gods,  or  stars,  and  were 
placed  upon  earth;  that  a  god  or  star  had  a  garden  in 
the  sky,  and  that  from  this  garden  Mother  Corn  was  sent 
to  the  earth  to  help  the  people.  The  Arikaras  certainly 

s  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee,  p.  10.  White  was  the 
color  of  the  Evening  Star  and  was  female;  red  was  the  color  of 
Great  Star,  the  Morning  Star,  and  was  male;  black  was  the 
color  of  Black  Star,  who  stood  in  the  northeast,  who  had  the 
power  to  send  animal  gods  to  help  the  people;  and  yellow  was 
the  color  of  Yellow  Star  in  the  northwest,  who  had  the  power 
to  send  buffalo  to  the  people. 


204  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

reverenced  the  Mother  Corn  as  much  as  did  the  Pawnees, 
but  they  appear  to  have  recognized  her  as  the  First 
Mother,  while  the  Pawnees  more  often  looked  upon  the 
Mother  Corn  as  the  earthly  representative  of  the  First 
Mother,  who  was  Bright  Star. 

Among  the  Siouan  tribes  of  this  region  we  find  no 
trace  of  a  star  cult  such  as  that  of  the  Pawnees,  and 
their  views  as  to  things  as  they  were  in  the  beginning 
are  very  unlike  those  of  the  Pawnees.  Their  stories  of 
the  creation  usually  open  with  the  statement  that  there 
was  a  being  (Wakonda  —  God)  floating  on  the  waters; 
that  he  created  the  earth  from  a  pinch  of  mud  brought 
up  to  him  by  diving  water-birds,  and  that  he  then  created 
people  and  animals  and  placed  them  on  the  earth.  We 
find  no  clear  trace  of  a  belief  in  the  heavenly  origin  of 
the  people  or  of  corn,  as  among  the  Pawnees;  but  the 
Siouan  tribes  often  spoke  of  corn  as  a  "mother"  and 
there  is  some  reason  for  believing  that  they  looked  upon 
the  corn,  as  the  Pawnees  also  sometimes  did,  as  symbol- 
izing the  Mother  Earth  and  her  fruitfulness. 

Speaking  of  the  great  reverence  the  Mandans  had  for 
the  corn,  Scattered  Corn  stated  that  corn  was  always 
treated  with  the  greatest  respect  and  care;  no  grains 
were  ever  left  scattered  about  and  the  stalks  were  never 
touched  with  metal  knives.4  The  empty  corn  caches  were 
purified  and  blessed  before  the  corn  was  placed  in  them. 

The  Omahas  considered  the  corn  a  ' '  mother, ' '  and  one 
of  their  myths  describes  the  birth  of  the  corn,  as  well  as 

*  Because  metal  belonged  to  or  was  related  to  Thunder,  which 
was  a  war  or  destructive  power?  We  find  this  belief  in  the  sin- 
ister influence  of  metal  among  many  tribes. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  205 

the  buffalo,  from  Mother  Earth.5  The  great  reverence 
which  this  people  had  for  the  corn  is  exhibited  in  the 
following  quotation  from  their  sacred  legend: 

' '  The  maize  being  one  of  the  greatest  means  to  give  us 
life,  in  honor  of  it  we  sing.  "We  sing  even  of  the  growth 
of  its  roots,  of  its  clinging  to  the  earth,  of  its  shooting 
forth  from  the  ground,  of  its  springing  from  joint  to 
joint,  of  its  sending  forth  the  ear,  of  its  putting  a  cover 
on  its  head,  of  its  ornamenting  its  head  with  a  feather,6 
of  its  invitation  to  men  to  come  and  feel  of  it,  to  open 
and  see  its  fruit,  of  its  invitation  to  man  to  taste  of  the 
fruit." 

Many  of  these  old  Omaha  songs  that  had  to  do  with 
every  phase  of  the  planting  and  cultivation  of  the  corn 
are  now  lost. 

1.     The  corn  and  the  buffalo 

Among  most  of  the  agricultural  tribes  of  the  Upper 
Missouri  we  find  traces  of  two  antagonistic  forms  of  cul- 
ture, one  of  which  gives  to  the  corn  the  higher  position 
in  the  sacred  traditions  and  rites,  while  the  other  puts 
the  buffalo  first  and  relegates  the  corn  to  a  subordinate 

s  27th  Report,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  p.  147.  This  is 
the  well  known  tale  of  the  old  woman  who  lived  in  a  cave  under- 
ground and  kept  the  corn,  buffalo,  and  other  animals.  Their 
coming  forth  from  the  cave  symbolizes  their  birth  from  Mother 
Earth. 

e  By  the  ' '  feather ' '  is  evidently  meant  the  central  upright 
spike  of  the  corn  tassel.  The  feather  head-ornament  peculiar  to 
the  Omahaa  with  the  long  central  upright  feather  and  the  smaller 
drooping  feathers  surrounding  it,  resembles  a  corn  tassel.  The 
Pawnees  liken  the  tassel  of  the  sacred  white  corn  to  an  eagle 
feather. 


206  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

place.  The  tribes  that  had  altars  in  their  lodges  —  the 
Pawnees,  Arikaras,  Mandans,  and  Hidatsas  —  placed 
both  an  ear  of  Mother  Corn  and  a  buffalo  skull  on  the 
altar. 

Among  the  Pawnees,  according  to  Mr.  Dorsey,  the  corn 
held  a  higher  place  than  the  buffalo ;  they  brought  in  the 
corn  in  all  of  their  ceremonies,  from  the  great  Hako 
ritual  down  to  the  little  household  rites  and  practices  of 
daily  life.7  But  when  we  examine  the  sacred  traditions 
of  the  people,  the  right  of  the  corn  to  the  higher  position 
is  less  clear.  The  traditions  seem  to  indicate  that  among 
the  Pawnees  as  among  all  of  the  other  Upper  Missouri 
village  tribes,  part  of  the  people  regarded  the  corn  as  of 
higher  importance,  while  others  gave  that  position  to  the 
buffalo ;  but  both  the  tales  and  the  sacred  rites  and  house- 
hold customs  seem  to  indicate  that  the  reverence  for  the 
Mother  Corn  was  older  and  much  more  deeply  rooted  in 
the  people's  thoughts  than  was  the  reverence  for  the 
buffalo. 

Among  the  Arikaras  we  seem  to  find  evidence  that  the 
corn  was  regarded  with  greater  reverence  than  was  the 
buffalo.  The  leading  role  played  by  the  star  gods  and 
goddesses  in  the  Pawnee  creation  traditions  is  given  to 
Mother  Corn  by  the  Arikaras.  She  leads  the  people  out 
of  the  ground  after  the  great  flood  and  guides  them  to 
their  historic  home  in  the  Missouri  Valley.8  "In  the 
series  of  rites,  which  began  in  the  early  spring  when  the 
thunder  first  sounded,  corn  held  a  prominent  place.  The 
ear  was  used  as  an  emblem  and  was  addressed  as 


7  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  STcidi  Pawnee,  p.  xv. 
s  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arilcara. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  207 

'Mother.'  Some  of  these  ceremonial  ears  of  corn  had 
been  preserved  for  generations  and  were  treasured  with 
reverent  care.  Offerings  were  made,  rituals  sung,  and 
feasts  held  when  the  ceremonies  took  place.  Rites  were 
observed  when  the  maize  was  planted,  at  certain  stages 
of  its  growth,  and  when  it  was  harvested.  Ceremonially 
associated  with  maize  were  other  sacred  objects,  which 
were  kept  in  a  special  case  or  shrine.  Among  these  were 
the  skins  of  certain  birds  of  cosmic  significance,  also 
seven  gourd  rattles  that  marked  the  movements  of  the 
seasons. ' ' 9 

As  among  the  Pawnees,  we  find  among  the  Arikaras 
some  traditions  that  give  to  the  buffalo  the  leading  role ; 
but  the  tales  and  rites  in  which  the  Mother  Corn  comes 
first  are  far  the  more  numerous. 

Among  the  Mandans  the  ceremonies  and  traditions  re- 
lating to  corn  seem  to  be  fully  as  important  and  as  an- 
cient as  those  that  have  to  do  with  the  buffalo.  The-  most 
interesting  feature  of  the  traditional  accounts  of  the  cre- 
ation and  early  history  of  the  Mandans  is  a  dual  set  of 
tales.  One  set  gives  the  corn  the  higher  place,  and  in 
some  respects  these  tales  resemble  those  of  the  Arikaras, 
though  in  other  respects  they  differ  widely.  The  other 
group  of  tales  has  very  little  to  say  of  the  corn,  and  these 
stories  correspond  rather  closely  to  some  of  those  of  the 
non-agricultural  Siouan  and  Algonquian  neighbors  of  the 
Mandans.  The  Mandan  traditions  and  rites  are  so  inter- 
woven with  those  of  the  Hidatsas  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  separate  these  belonging  to  one  tribe  from  those 
belonging  to  the  other.  There  are  two  possible  explana- 

9  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  85. 


208  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

tions  of  this  dual  set  of  Mandan-Hidatsa  ceremonies  and 
traditions. 

The  first  theory  is  that  the  non-agricultural  series  is 
the  one  the  Mandans  brought  with  them  into  the  Missouri 
Valley,  and  that  the  second  series  was  acquired  from  the 
Pawnees  and  Arikaras  from  whom,  according  to  this 
theory,  they  first  procured  corn  and  the  rites  and  beliefs 
which  accompanied  the  practice  of  agriculture.  This 
theory  has  much  to  recommend  it ;  but  it  is  stoutly  denied 
by  the  Mandans  themselves. 

The  second  explanation  is  that  the  agricultural  series 
of  traditions  and  rites  belonged  to  the  old  Mandan  tribe, 
and  that  the  non-agricultural  set  has  been  acquired  from 
the  Hidatsas  during  the  long  period  of  close  association 
with  that  tribe.  This  explanation  also  has  its  supporters. 
Its  strongest  points  are  that  the  Hidatsas  claim  that  all 
of  their  agricultural  knowledge  came  from  contact  with 
the  Mandans,  and  that  the  Mandans  cannot  have  come 
through  the  terrible  experiences  which,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  threatened  them  with  complete  extinction  as  a 
tribe,  without  losing  a  great  part  of  their  older  traditions 
and  rites. 

There  is  also  the  third  possibility  that  the  Mandan 
traditions  and  rites  of  today  are  the  result  of  the  fusing 
of  three  sets :  Mandan,  Hidatsa,  and  Arikara.  There  are 
arguments  that  may  be  used  in  support  of  any  of  these 
three  theories,  but  it  seems  impossible  to  prove  any  one  of 
them  or  to  learn  whether  in  early  years  the  Mandans 
did  or  did  not  reverence  the  corn  more  highly  than  the 
buffalo. 

Among  the  Omahas,  however,  we  have  clear  evidence 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  209 

that  the  old  tribal  organization  was  on  an  agricultural 
basis  and  that  the  corn  rites,  many  of  them  long  since  dis- 
carded and  now  almost  forgotten,  were  much  older  than 
the  rites  connected  with  the  buffalo.10  Here  we  need  pay 
no  heed  to  the  usual  tales  which  recount  how  seed  was 
first  obtained  from  the  Arikaras,  or  Pawnees ;  for  the  evi- 
dence that  the  Omahas  had  practiced  agriculture  for  gen- 
erations before  they  came  in  contact  with  these  Caddoan 
tribes  is  overwhelming. 

To  sum  up :  it  appears  that  we  may  safely  judge  that 
at  one  time  the  Pawnees,  Arikaras,  Omahas,  and  Ponkas11 
held  the  corn  to  be  more  sacred  than  the  buffalo,  and  that 
it  also  appears  clear  that  the  corn  cult  among  these  tribes 
was  much  more  highly  developed  in  early  times,  before 
the  Indians  secured  horses  and  European  weapons,  the 
rise  of  the  buffalo  cult  in  most  cases  being  a  later  devel- 
opment. In  the  case  of  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  Otoes, 
and  lowas,  the  old  traditions  and  rites  on  which  we  must 
base  our  judgment  have  been  lost  or  have  become  so  cor- 
rupted that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  safe 
conclusion.12 


10  This  evidence  will  be  quoted  in  Chapter  VII  under  the  head- 
ing, Ceremonial  Organization. 

11  The  Ponkas  were  a  part  of  the  old  Omaha  tribe,  or  rather, 
the  Ponkas  and  Omahas  were  one  tribe,  until  the  time  of  their 
arrival  on  the  Missouri. 

12  The  Otoes  and   lowas  are  said  to  have  been  very  closely 
connected  with  the  Omahas  and  Ponkas  during  the  migration  to 
the  Missouri.     We  might  therefore  conjecture  that  their  culture 
was  similar  to  that  of  their  Omaha-Ponka  kindred.     The  lowas 
were  certainly  good  agriculturists  before  the  year  1700,  and  they 
still  have  two  varieties  of  sacred  corn  at  the  present  day  and 
corn  tabus. 


210  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

2.     Corn  origin  myths 

Most  of  the  agricultural  tribes  of  this  area  still  pre- 
serve myths  or  traditions  which  explain  in  detail  the 
sacred  origin  of  corn,  and  several  of  these  tribes  have  two 
or  more  very  divergent  accounts  of  the  first  coming  of 
the  corn  —  a  fact  that  is  not  easily  explained  unless  we 
suppose  that  they  have  borrowed  from  neighboring  tribes 
or  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Arikaras,  the  tribe  as  it 
exists  today  is  composed  of  the  fragments  of  two  or  more 
formerly  independent  tribes  or  groups,  each  of  which 
had  its  own  sacred  tradition  of  the  origin  of  corn. 

Among  the  Caddoans  —  the  Pawnees,  Arikaras,  and 
Wichitas  —  we  find  some  faint  vestiges  of  a  belief  that 
the  corn  originated  in  the  heavens  and  was  sent  to  the 
earth  by  the  gods  or  goddesses. 

The  Pawnees  considered  Bright  Star,  the  Evening 
Star,  the  mother  of  all  things,  and  believed  that  in  her 
garden  in  the  western  skies  the  corn  was  always  ripening. 
Arisa,  the  leading  Skidi  Pawnee  priest,  who  died  very 
old  in  1878,  told  the  following  myth  of  the  origin  of 
corn : 13  Tirawa  created  or  caused  to  be  created  a  boy 
and  a  girl  and  placed  them  on  earth ;  they  married  and 
had  children.  Their  son  followed  a  meadow  lark,  the 
messenger  of  the  four  servants  of  Bright  Star:  Cloud, 
"Wind,  Thunder,  and  Lightning.  The  bird  led  the  boy 
far  away  and  finally  to  an  earth-lodge  in  which  these 
four  servants  were  sitting.  They  taught  the  boy  how  to 
live;  they  gave  him  the  buffalo  to  kill  and  a  sacred 
bundle  containing  seed;  they  taught  him  how  to  make 
hoes  with  the  shoulder  blade  of  the  buffalo  and  gave 

is  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  SHdi  Pawnee,  p.  21. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  211 

him  sacred  rites.  This  boy  returned  to  the  people  and 
became  the  head-priest;  he  kept  the  sacred  bundle  of 
seed,  giving  the  seed  to  the  people  in  the  spring  and 
receiving  fresh  seed  from  them  again  in  the  autumn. 
This  tale  implies  that  corn  was  given  to  the  people  by 
Bright  Star  and  came  from  her  garden  in  the  sky.  The 
Arikara  have  a  similar  creation  tradition  which  states 
that  a  god  (or  goddess)  had  a  garden  in  the  sky  in 
which  corn  was  growing,  and  that  it  was  from  this  gar- 
den that  Mother  Corn  came  to  the  earth  to  help  the 
people.  In  another  Skidi  myth 14  we  are  informed  that 
Tirawa  gave  seeds  of  all  kinds  to  Spider  Woman,  who 
lived  under  the  earth,  instructing  her  to  grow  crops  and 
distribute  the  increase  among  the  people  so  that  all  might 
have  seed.  Another  version  states  that  the  Sun  and 
Moon  had  given  the  seeds  to  this  old  woman.15 

The  Arikara  creation  traditions,  collected  by  Mr.  Dor- 
sey,  state  that  the  gods  made  people.  Some  were  giants, 
some  little  people.  The  giants  grew  insolent  and  wicked 
and  the  gods  decided  to  send  a  great  flood  and  destroy 
them;  but  before  sending  the  flood  the  gods  made  cer- 
tain animals  and  sent  them  to  save  the  little  people,  who 
were  good.  These  little  people  were  changed  into  grains 
of  corn  and  were  taken  under  the  ground  by  the  various 
animals.  Some  of  the  tales  state  that  after  the  flood 
had  subsided  these  animals  led  the  people  out  of  the 
ground  again  and  guided  them  westward  to  their  historic 
home  in  the  Missouri  Valley,  but  other  versions  declare 
that  it  was  Mother  Corn  who  brought  the  people  out  of 

i*  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee,  p.  39. 
is  Same,  p.  36. 


212  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

the  ground  and  took  them  west.  There  are  at  least  ten 
versions  of  this  story  among  the  Arikaras,  all  agreeing 
On  the  main  points  but  differing  in  details.  One  story- 
gives  the  mouse  the  credit  for  taking  the  people  into  the 
ground  and  later  leading  them  forth  again ;  another  says 
the  fox  was  the  leader,  a  third  the  badger,  a  fourth  that 
it  was  a  group  of  animals,  each  doing  his  share,  while 
the  other  versions  state  that  the  animals  led  the  people 
under  the  ground  and  that  Mother  Corn  assisted  by  the 
animals  led  them  forth  again. 

Mr.  Dorsey's  third  tale  16  gives  a  very  prominent  place 
to  Mother  Corn.  This  version  opens  with  the  creation 
of  people  by  Nesaru  (God).  The  large  people  (giants) 
thinking  themselves  as  powerful  as  Nesaru  grow  insolent. 
Nesaru  turns  the  good  people  into  grains  of  corn  and  has 
the  animals  take  them  under  ground,  into  a  great  cave; 
he  then  sends  the  flood  and  drowns  the  wicked  giants. 
"Nesaru  in  the  heavens  planted  corn  in  the  heavens,  to 
remind  him  that  his  people  were  put  under  ground.  As 
soon  as  the  corn  in  the  heavens  had  matured,  Nesaru 
took  from  the  field  an  ear  of  corn.  This  corn  he  turned 
into  a  woman  and  Nesaru  said,  'You  must  go  down  to 
the  earth  and  bring  my  people  from  the  earth.'  She 
went  down  to  the  earth  and  she  roamed  over  the  land 
for  many,  many  years,  not  knowing  where  to  find  the 
people.  At  last  the  thunders  sounded  in  the  east.  She 
followed  the  sound,  and  she  found  the  people  under- 
ground in  the  east.  By  the  power  of  Nesaru  himself 
this  woman  was  taken  under  ground,  and  when  the 
people  and  the  animals  saw  her  they  rejoiced.  They 

16  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arikara,  p.  12. 


OMAHA,  IOWA,  AND  OTO  CORN 


1.  Omaha  white 

2.  Omaha  blue 

3.  Omaha  brown 


4.  Omaha  black  7.  Iowa  blue 

5.  Iowa  sacred  red      8.  Oto  white 

6.  Iowa  sacred  brown  9.  Oto  black 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  215 

knew  her,  for  she  was  the  Mother-Corn.  The  people  and 
the  animals  also  knew  that  she  had  the  consent  of  all  the 
gods  to  take  them  out." 

Mother  Corn  now  calls  for  aid,  and  the  mole,  the 
badger,  and  the  long-nosed  mouse  come  forward  and  be- 
gin to  dig  a  passage  from  the  cave  to  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  Mother  Corn  starts  to  lead  the  animals  and 
people  forth,  but  as  she  reaches  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 
the  thunders  sound  in  the  east,  the  earth  heaves  and  the 
animals  and  people  are  cast  out  upon  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  Some  of  the  people  wish  to  remain  at  this  place, 
so  they  are  changed  into  moles,  badgers,  and  mice  and 
live  with  these  animals  in  holes  in  the  ground.  Mother 
Corn  leads  the  rest  of  the  people  toward  the  west.  They 
have  many  adventures  before  crossing  the  Missouri. 
Mother  Corn  now  returns  to  heaven  and  comes  back  with 
a  man.  Some  of  the  tales  state  this  was  Nesaru  himself. 
He  establishes  the  office  of  chief  and  gives  the  people 
rules  of  life.  Mother  Corn  says  to  the  people:  "The 
gods  in  the  heavens  are  the  four  world-quarters,  for  they 
are  jealous.  If  you  forget  to  give  smoke  to  them  they 
will  .  .  .  send  storms.  Give  smoke  to  me  last.  The 
Cedar-Tree  that  shall  stand  in  front  of  your  lodge  shall 
be  myself.17  I  shall  turn  into  a  Cedar-Tree,  to  remind 
you  that  I  am  Mother-Corn,  who  gave  you  your  life.  It 
was  I,  Mother-Corn,  who  brought  you  from  the  east.  I 

IT  Among  the  Omahas  also  the  cedar  represents  life  and  is 
connected  with  thunder.  The  Omahas  had  a  sacred  cedar  pole, 
which  belonged  to  the  gens  that  kept  the  thunder  rites.  This 
gens  also  had  the  sacred  shell,  and  it  seems  probable  that  the 
pole,  and  perhaps  the  shell  also,  was  formerly  connected  with  the 
cultivation  of  the  corn.  See  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  194. 


216  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

must  become  a  Cedar-Tree  to  be  with.  you.  The  stone 
that  is  placed  at  the  right  of  the  Cedar-Tree  is  the  man 
who  came  and  gave  you  order  and  established  the  office 
of  chief.  It  is  Nesaru  .  .  .  watching  over  you.  It 
will  keep  you  together  and  give  you  long  life."  18 

Among  the  Pawnees  there  appears  to  be  no  trace  of 
this  story  of  the  flood  and  of  Mother  Corn  leading  the 
people  out  of  the  ground,  but  the  Wichitas  have  a  tradi- 
tion that  during  the  flood  a  woman  took  people  and  seeds 
upon  a  raft  and  saved  them.19 

The  Arikara  traditions  agree  that  after  Mother  Corn 
had  led  the  people  into  the  Missouri  Valley  she  turned 
herself  into  corn  and  thus  provided  seed  for  the  people 
to  plant.  In  one  of  the  tales  the  whirlwind  becomes 
angry  at  Mother  Corn  and  comes  to  attack  the  people; 
Mother  Corn  turns  herself  into  a  cedar  tree  and  a  rock 
(the  black  meteoric  star  of  the  eastern  heavens,  repre- 
senting Nesaru?)  falls  beside  the  cedar  tree.  Whirl- 
wind strikes  the  cedar  tree  (Mother  Corn)  injuring  her, 
and  she  throws  out  first  an  ear  of  red  corn,  then  a  yellow, 
then  a  black,  last  a  white  ear  (the  four  sacred  colors). 
This  Cedar  Tree  becomes  the  "Wonderful  Grand- 
mother" and  is  placed  before  the  Arikara  medicine- 
lodge,  while  the  black  meteoric  rock  becomes  the  "Won- 
derful Grandfather"  and  is  placed  beside  the  Cedar 
Tree.  Mother  Corn  then  gives  the  four  sacred  ears  to 
the  people :  ' '  My  people,  this  corn  is  for  you.  They  are 
seeds.  You  shall  plant  them,  so  that  in  time  you  can 
offer  this  corn  to  the  gods  also.  This  will  be  done  to 

!8  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arikara,  p.  17. 

is  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Slcidi  Pawnee,  footnote  74. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  217 

remind  them  that  I  was  once  Corn  up  in  the  heavens  and 
was  sent  down  to  take  you  from  the  ground. ' ' 20  Mother 
Corn  taught  the  people  the  rites  associated  with  the 
sacred  bundles;  she  then  returned  to  the  place  in  the 
east,  from  which  she  had  come.  Before  departing  she 
bids  the  people  bring  her  all  of  the  children's  moccasins 
which  she  ties  in  a  bundle,  placing  the  bundle  on  her 
back.  She  then  turns  herself  into  an  ear  of  corn  and 
the  people  throw  her,  and  the  children's  moccasins, 
wrapped  up  in  a  buffalo  skin,  into  the  river,  so  that  she 
may  return  to  her  place  in  the  east.  After  many  years 
she  returned  one  autumn  and  taught  the  priests  more 
bundle  ceremonies  and  songs.  Then  she  departed  and 
was  never  seen  again.21 

The  Pawnees  do  not  appear  to  have  had  any  traditions 
telling  of  Mother  Corn  leading  the  people  out  of  the 
ground,  but  they  had  tales  of  the  Spider  Woman  who 
kept  the  buffalo  and  corn  in  a  cave  underground.  This 
old  woman  lived  in  the  center  of  the  earth  in  a  vast  cave 
in  the  far  north,  where  the  sky  touches  the  earth.  Tira- 
wa  gives  her  seeds  of  all  kinds  and  bids  her  plant  the 
seeds  and  give  the  increase  to  the  people  for  seed;  but 
she  hoards  her  crops  and  gives  the  people  nothing.  Tira- 
wa  sends  the  Sun  Boys  against  the  old  woman;  they 
cause  the  grasshoppers  to  attack  her  and  carry  her  up 
and  put  her  in  the  moon,  where  she  may  still  be  seen. 
The  Sun  Boys  then  give  all  of  her  hoarded  seeds  to  the 
people.22  Another  version  says  that  the  Spider  Woman 

20  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arikara,  p.  22. 

21  Same,  p.  22. 

22  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  SJcidi  Pawnee,  p.  39. 


218  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

kept  all  of  the  seed  and  also  spun  a  great  web  to  keep 
all  of  the  buffalo  underground.  The  buffalo  ask  her  to 
permit  them  to  go  south  to  the  people;  she  refuses;  but 
they  attack  her  and  trample  her  into  the  ground.  They 
then  go  south  and  the  old  woman's  body  turns  into  a 
forked  root  and  her  web  into  a  long  vine.23 

The  complete  entanglement  of  the  Mandan  and  Hi- 
datsa  traditions  and  ceremonies  renders  it  exceedingly 
difficult  and  often  impossible  to  say  to  which  tribe  cer- 
tain features  must  be  ascribed.  The  Mandans,  however, 
are  known  to  have  had  for  at  least  one  hundred  years  an 
origin  tradition,  of  which  the  following  is  a  good  ver- 
sion: 

"Many  hundreds  of  years  ago  the  Mandan  Corn 
People  came  out  upon  the  earth  at  a  place  somewhere 
down  along  the  Missouri  River.24  The  exact  spot  is  not 
known,  although  the  older  Indians  think  that  they  could 
find  it  by  tracing  the  old  villages,  and  certain  land- 
marks. 

"These  Mandans  were  really  corn  people  living  down 
under  the  ground.  One  day  one  of  these  people  saw  an 
opening  above  into  this  world.  Soon  all  the  people  be- 
gan to  talk  about  the  world  up  above,  and  to  wonder 
about  it.  So  the  great  chiefs  of  the  corn  people  sent 
the  black-bird  to  go  up  and  .  .  .  look  through  the 
opening.  He  returned  and  told  the  chiefs  that  there 
was  a  beautiful  prosperous  country  up  there  which  the 

23  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  SJcidi  Pawnee,  p.  36. 

24  Several  of  the  Mandan  traditions  state  that  the  underground 
home  from  which  they  came  was  east  of  the  Missouri,  which  agrees 
with  the  statements  of  the  quite  similar  Arikara  tales. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  219 

corn  people  would  enjoy.  At  once  the  people  began 
agitating  the  question  of  going  up  into  this  new  country. 
At  last  the  chiefs  magically  caused  a  vine  to  grow  up  to 
the  small  opening.  They  then  sent  the  fox  up  to  enlarge 
the  hole ;  after  he  had  done  his  best  they  sent  up  the  red 
fox.  The  badger  was  the  third  animal  sent  up  to  enlarge 
the  opening,  and  fourth  and  last  the  elk  went  up  and 
completed  the  work  with  his  broad  antlers.25 

After  this  the  people  began  climbing  up  one  by  one 
and  the  chiefs  led  them  into  the  world  above.  For  four 
days  and  four  nights  the  people  kept  steadily  climbing 
out  of  the  hole.  Then  a  woman  heavy  with  child  started 
up  and  the  vine  broke  with  her  so  that  no  more  people 
were  able  to  ascend. 

Now  the  Mandan  corn  people  were  in  the  upper  world 
with  their  chiefs.  The  head  chief  was  Good  Fur  Robe, 
then  there  were  Long  Ear-rings,  Uses  His  Head  for  a 
Rattle,28  Swaying  Corn  Plant,  and  their  sister,  Yellow 
Corn  Woman.  These  five  were  the  leaders  of  the  new 
nation.  Good  Fur  Robe  located  and  laid  out  the  first 
village  built  by  these  people.  This  village  was  laid  out 
with  the  houses  all  in  rows  to  represent  a  field  of  corn. 
The  same  chief  also  laid  out  the  fields  and  allotted  the 
fields  among  the  families. 

After  this  Good  Fur  Robe  started  the  ceremony  of 
cleansing  the  seed.  He  had  in  his  possession  many  vari- 
eties of  corn,  beans,  and  squashes.  The  village  caller 

25  The  Arikara  versions  of  this  tale  are  similar  to  the  Mandan 
one;  each  version  gives  a  somewhat  different  account  aa  to  which 
animals  helped. 

26  This  name  evidently  refers  to  the  gourd,  often  used  as  a 
rattle. 


220  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

was  first  sent  out  to  give  notice  that  the  chief  would  issue 
seed  on  the  following  day.  The  next  morning  all  the 
women  came  to  his  lodge  with  presents  in  their  arms  to 
receive  the  cleansed  seed.  Each  woman  was  asked  what 
kind  of  corn  she  wished,  what  kind  of  beans,  and  what 
kind  of  squashes.  Then  each  woman  received  two  seeds 
of  each  sort.  When  they  had  gotten  home  the  seeds  had 
increased  to  a  quantity  sufficient  for  each  one 's  planting, 
and  the  women  then  went  out  and  planted  their  fields. 

"For  a  long  time  these  Mandan  Corn  People  lived  in 
this  place  unmolested.  But  soon  enemies  began  to  bother 
them  and  they  formed  a  society  for  protection,  called  the 
Brave  Warriors  Society.  Good  Fur  Robe  said  that  they 
must  have  a  symbol,  he  said  that  when  you  take  a  hand- 
ful of  corn  you  hold  a  great  deal  in  your  hand,  and  the 
same  of  many  sorts  of  seeds,  but  when  you  try  to  pick 
up  a  handful  of  red  beans  they  are  like  glass,  slippery, 
and  you  cannot  hang  onto  them.  Therefore  he  said  that 
they  should  have  a  red  bean  for  a  symbol  to  show  that 
they  could  slip  out  of  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  and 
they  painted  the  red  beans  on  their  shields.  Then  he 
placed  two  young  men  ahead  of  the  Brave  Warriors  and 
he  said  that  these  two  would  be  the  defenders  of  the 
society  and  the  village.  He  placed  a  sunflower  stalk  in 
the  hand  of  each  one  and  said  that  that  was  to  show  that 
they  were  the  bravest  of  the  village  and  that  when  they 
planted  the  sunflower  in  the  ground  in  time  of  war  they 
might  never  move  from  that  spot  even  if  they  must  be 
killed  there.27  This  was  one  of  the  first  societies  organ- 
ized in  the  tribe." 


27  Old    Cheyennes   state   that   one   hundred   years   ago    (about 
1815)    their  tribe  had  a  battle  with  the  Mandans  on  the  Upper 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  221 

The  Sun  now  comes  to  woo  Yellow  Corn  Woman ;  she 
rejects  his  suit,  and  in  revenge  he  attempts  to  destroy  the 
growing  corn,  but  she  protects  the  corn  and  saves  it  from 
him.  In  the  autumn  Good  Pur  Robe  organizes  the  Goose 
Society  among  the  women  and  gives  them  the  power  to 
protect  the  corn  and  to  see  that  no  one  misuses  it.  The 
chiefs  and  their  sister,  Yellow  Corn  Woman,  then  die 
and  the  people  put  the  skulls  of  the  two  head  chiefs  in 
the  sacred  bundle.28 

This  Mandan  tradition  of  the  origin  and  adventures 
of  the  Corn  People  reminds  one  very  strongly  of  the 
Arikara  tale  of  Mother  Corn  leading  the  corn  people  out 
of  the  ground,  the  main  defference  being  that  the  part 
played  by  Mother  Corn  in  the  Arikara  tradition  is  taken 
by  Good  Fur  Robe  and  his  companions  in  the  Mandan 
version.  Among  the  Mandans  and  Hidatsas  we  find  a 
''mysterious  being"  who  corresponds  closely  to  Mother 
Corn  in  some  respects,  although  in  others,  and  especially 
in  many  of  the  Hidatsa  stories,  she  is  an  entirely  differ- 
ent sort  of  character.  This  is  the  Old  Woman  Who 
Never  Dies,  or  the  Grandmother,  as  she  is  also  called. 
Many  of  the  Indians  say  that  she  belonged  originally  to 
the  Hidatsas,  and  it  is  possible  that  she  was  early 

Missouri,  and  that  a  few  men  on  each  side  "pinned  themselves 
down"  to  certain  spots  of  ground  and  remained  where  they  were 
until  killed.  The  Cheyenne  men  who  did  this  belonged  to  the 
Dog  Soldier  Society.  They  had  "dog  ropes"  with  picket  pins 
attached  to  them,  by  means  of  which  they  picketted  themselves 
out  and  remained  where  they  were  until  they  were  killed  or  until 
their  friends  carried  them  off  the  field  by  main  force. 

28  This  custom  of  placing  the  head  chief's  skull  in  the  sacred 
bundle  belonging  to  his  village  was  a  very  old  one  among  the 
Pawnees. 


222  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

adopted  by  the  Mandans  and  was  given  by  them  some 
of  the  attributes  of  the  Corn  Mother.  In  any  event  she 
is  bound  up  with  many  of  the  agricultural  beliefs  and 
practices  of  the  Mandans  and  Hidatsas.  To  her  many 
miracles  are  ascribed,  and  frequently  these  have  nothing 
to  do  with  agriculture.  There  is  a  great  volume  of 
stories  about  her,  most  of  which  have  never  been  col- 
lected. The  following  general  account  of  her  is  from 
Maximilian : 

' '  The  Old  Woman  Who  Never  Dies  has  very  extensive 
plantations  of  maize,  the  keepers  of  which  are  the  great 
stag  and  the  white  tail  stag  [the  elk  and  the  white  tailed 
deer?].  She  has  likewise  many  blackbirds  which  help  to 
guard  her  property.  When  she  intends  to  feed  these 
keepers  she  summons  them  and  they  fall  with  avidity 
upon  the  maize  fields.  As  these  plantations  are  very 
large  she  requires  many  laborers  and  the  mouse,  the  mole, 
and  the  before  mentioned  stags  perform  the  work.  The 
birds  which  fly  from  the  sea  shore  in  the  spring  represent 
the  old  woman  who  then  travels  to  the  north  to  visit  the 
old  man  who  never  dies,  and  who  always  resides  in  that 
quarter.29  She  does  not,  however,  stop  there  long,  but 
generally  returns  in  three  or  four  days.  In  former  times 
the  old  woman's  hut  was  near  the  Little  Missouri  where 
the  Indians  often  went  to  visit  her.  One  day  twelve 
Manitaries  came  to  her  and  she  set  before  them  a  pot  of 

29  Compare  Mr.  Grinnell  's  version  of  the  Cheyenne  creation 
tradition,  in  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,  v.  xx,  p.  171. 
In  this  Cheyenne  version  it  is  the  man  who  is  placed  in  the  south 
and  the  woman  in  the  north.  In  the  spring  the  man  advances 
toward  the  north;  he  is  the  Thunder,  or  is  accompanied  by  the 
Thunder,  and  also  by  the  migratory  birds. 


OP  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  223 

maize  which  was  so  small  that  it  was  not  sufficient  to 
satisfy  even  one,  but  she  invited  them  to  eat  and  as  soon 
as  the  pot  was  empty  it  was  instantly  filled  and  all  twelve 
men  had  enough.  This  occurred  several  times  while  the 
old  woman  resided  in  that  spot. ' ' 

Her  residence  was  for  a  long  time  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Missouri,  some  ten  miles  below  the  Little  Missouri 
River  on  the  banks  of  a  little  slough  known  as  the  Short 
Missouri.  A  single  large  house-ring  here  is  pointed  out 
as  the  site  of  her  home  and  the  high  bottom  there  is  said 
to  have  been  the  Grandmother's  field.  According  to  the 
traditions  she  became  impatient  at  the  too  frequent  visits 
of  the  Hidatsas  and  moved  into  the  west. 

The  Spider  Woman  of  the  Pawnees,  who  kept  the  corn, 
the  beans,  the  squashes,  and  the  buffalo  in  her  under- 
ground home,  resembles  the  Mandan  and  Hidatsa  Old 
"Woman  Who  Never  Dies,  but  in  some  respects  she  is  very 
different.  She  lived  in  the  far  north,  and  she  had  to  be 
forced  to  give  up  the  seeds  and  animals  which  Tirawa 
through  his  servants,  the  Sun  and  Moon,  had  given  her 
to  distribute  among  the  people.  In  the  Arikara  tale  of 
The  Girl  Who  Married  a  Star,30  when  the  girl's  son 
reaches  the  earth  he  goes  toward  the  west  and  finds  an 
old  woman  who  has  a  large  field  of  corn  and  squashes 
and  flocks  of  blackbirds  which  work  for  her  and  which 
she  feeds  with  corn.  She  also  has  many  animals.  The 
boy,  by  means  of  his  magic  power,  takes  the  birds  and 
animals  (and  the  corn?)  out  of  the  old  woman's  control 
and  scatters  them  over  the  country,  so  that  they  may  be 
of  use  to  the  people.  This  is  said  to  have  happened 

so  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arilcara,  p.  45. 


224  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

somewhere  to  the  northwest  of  the  Arikara  village,  which 
is  said  to  have  been  on  the  Missouri ;  but  the  tree  which 
the  girl  climbed  when  she  was  led  to  the  sky  by  the  star's 
magic  power,  is  said  to  have  been;  near  Armstrong. 
In  this  tale,  as  in  the  Pawnee  versions,  the  old  woman 
has  to  be  overpowered  and  compelled  to  give  up  the  an- 
imals, birds,  and  corn  for  the  benefit  of  the  people. 

Several  Cheyenne  traditions  dealing  with  the  origin  of 
the  corn  and  buffalo  have  been  collected  by  Mr.  George 
Bird  Grinnell.31  There  were  evidently  two  sets  of  these 
traditions  originally,  one  set  belonging  to  the  Cheyennes 
and  the  other  to  the  Suhtai,  a  cognate  tribe  which  joined 
the  Cheyennes  long  ago  north  of  the  Missouri  but  kept 
up  a  separate  tribal  organization  until  about  the  year 
1830.  The  traditions  of  the  two  people  have  now  be- 
some  so  entangled  that  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  separate  them.  There  are  two  culture  heroes: 
Sweet  Root  Standing  of  the  Cheyennes,  and  Standing 
on  Ground  of  the  Suhtai,  who  act  together  in  bringing 
the  corn  and  buffalo  to  the  people.  In  some  of  the  ver- 
sions Standing  on  Ground,  the  Suhtai,  is  the  leader  and 
Sweet  Root  Standing  is  the  follower  or  servant,  but  the 
positions  are  reversed  in  at  least  one  of  the  tales,  and 
Sweet  Root  Standing  takes  the  lead.  Each  of  these  men 
has  several  names.  Sweet  Root  Standing,  more  often 
called  simply  Sweet  Root,  may  possibly  be  a  corn  name. 
His  other  names  are  Rustling  Leaf,  Rustling  Corn  Leaf, 
Corn  Leaf,  and  Sweet  Medicine.  Standing  on  Ground 
is  also  called  Erect  Horns,  Straight  Horns,  Red  Tassel 

si  George  Bird  Grinnell,  ' '  Some  Early  Cheyenne  Tales, ' '  part 
i,  in  Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,  v.  xx,  pp.  169-194. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  225 

(of  corn),  and  in  one  tale  when  he  is  asked  his  name  he 
says:    "My  name  is  Mai-turn,  Red,  red,  red,  red."  32 

The  first  of  Mr.  Grinnell's  Cheyenne  tales  seems  to 
refer  to  an  earlier  period  than  the  others.  It  relates 
how  the  people  were  given  the  buffalo,  but  later  the  herds 
disappear.  Long  after  this  Standing  on  Ground  and 
Sweet  Root  Standing  again  bring  the  buffalo,  and  the 
corn  also,  to  the  people.  The  first  tale  is  that  of  Yellow- 
top-to-Head  Woman.  It  states  that  long  ago  the  Chey- 
ennes  were  living  far  on  the  other  side  (northeast)  of 
the  Missouri  in  a  flat,  sandy  country.  They  were  starv- 
ing. Two  young  men  were  sent  out  to  find  food.  They 
traveled  for  eight  days  toward  the  north  and  came  in 
sight  of  a  high  peak  with  a  stream  flowing  near  it. 
While  crossing  the  stream  one  of  the  young  men  was 
seized  by  a  great  serpent  or  water  monster.  An  old  man, 
the  Coyote  Man,  comes  out  of  the  peak  and  kills  the  ser- 
pent. He  calls  the  young  men  his  grandsons  and  con- 
ducts them  into  the  peak,  which  is  really  a  lodge.  There 
they  see  an  old  woman  and  a  girl,  Yellow-top-to-Head- 
Woman,  who  is  the  daughter  of  the  old  couple.  The 
woman  is  given  to  the  younger  of  the  two  Cheyennes  to 
be  his  wife;  then  the  coyote  man  bids  the  youths  look 
toward  the  north  and  they  see  a  great  field  of  corn; 
toward  the  east  are  herds  of  buffalo,  toward  the  south 
elk,  deer,  and  other  game ;  toward  the  southwest  herds  of 
horses,  and  toward  the  west  birds  of  all  kinds.  After 
they  have  looked  at  everything,  the  coyote  man  says 
to  them.  "Now  you  shall  go  to  your  home.  Take  this 

32  In  these  Cheyenne  tales  red  seems  to  be  employed  to  sym- 
bolize abundant  life. 


226 


woman  back  with  you  to  your  camp  .  .  .  she  is  to 
be  a  great  helping  power  to  your  people;  she  will  take 
everything  I  have  shown  you  to  your  people ;  everything 
will  follow  her."  The  old  people  tell  their  daughter 
that  if  she  ever  sees  a  little  buffalo  calf  brought  into 
camp  she  must  not  say,  "My  poor  animal." 

The  three  young  people  now  returned  to  the  Cheyenne 
camp  in  the  south ;  the  buffalo  follow  and  the  famine  is 
ended,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  the  woman  also  bring- 
ing the  corn.  Eight  years  later  some  boys  dragged  a 
little  buffalo  calf  into  camp.  Yellowtop-to-Head  Woman 
pitied  the  calf  and  said,  "My  poor  calf."  That  day  the 
buffalo  all  disappeared.  Yellowtop-to-Head  Woman  now 
sets  out  to  visit  her  parents  in  the  peak,  taking  the  two 
young  men  with  her;  they  do  not  return,  and  the  buf- 
falo are  not  seen  again  until  Sweet  Root  Standing  and 
Standing  on  Ground  bring  them  the  second  time.  Of 
this  second  tale  there  are  many  versions,  most  of  which 
are  in  agreement  as  to  the  main  facts,  but  they  differ 
widely  in  details.  These  events  evidently  happened 
while  the  Cheyennes  were  still  on  foot,  living  far  to  the 
northeast  of  the  Missouri,  in  the  present  Minnesota- 
North  Dakota  borderland.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  these 
tales  Sweet  Root  and  Standing  on  Ground  are  usually 
given  their  corn  names:  Rustling  (corn)  Leaf  and  Red 
Tassel  (of  corn). 

In  a  big  camp  of  Cheyennes  two  young  men  met. 
They  were  dressed  and  painted  in  a  peculiar  fashion  and 
both  in  exactly  the  same  way.  ' '  Where  did  you  get  your 
dress?"  said  one:  "Where  did  you  learn  it?"  said  the 
other. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  227 

The  man  first  addressed  pointed  to  a  big  white  bluff 
far  off,  and  said,  "I  learned  it  in  that  big  hill  far  off 
where  there  is  an  overhanging  cliff  and  a  stream  of  water 
pouring  out.  There  is  where  I  got  my  dress. ' ' 

"Why,"  said  the  other,  "that  is  just  where  I  got 
mine,  the  same  place  you  mean. ' '  Both  were  astonished. 

They  then  induce  the  tribe  to  move  to  that  place,  in 
order  that  they  may  try  to  secure  something  for  the 
people,  who  are  very  poor.  The  people  encamp  in  front 
of  the  bluff  and  the  two  young  men  go  to  the  bluff  and 
pass  in  under  the  water  falling  over  the  cliff.  This  is 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  waterfall.  In  the  first  version 
given  by  Mr.  Grinnell  the  two  young  men  enter  side  by 
side.  In  the  other  versions  one  or  the  other  goes  in  first. 

Behind  the  waterfall  the  young  men  find  an  old  woman 
who  addresses  them  as  grandsons  and  welcomes  them. 
She  is  sitting  in  a  lodge.  She  bids  them  look  one  way 
and  they  see  herds  of  buffalo,  deer,  antelope,  etc.;  she 
bids  them  look  another  way  and  they  see  a  great  field  of 
corn.  She  now  gives  one  of  them  a  bowl  with  a  few 
grains  of  corn,  the  other  a  bowl  of  meat,  cut  into  little 
pieces,  and  bids  them  take  these  things  to  the  people. 
The  young  men  feed  the  people,  and  the  little  bowls  con- 
tain enough  for  all.  In  some  of  the  tales  the  young  men 
are  each  given  meat  and  corn,  and  they  feed  the  people 
ceremonially,  Standing  on  Ground  or  Red  Tassel  feeding 
the  males,  Sweet  Root  or  Rustling  Leaf  feeding  the  fe- 
males. In  these  details  the  versions  do  not  agree. 

Continuing  the  first  version:  the  buffalo  follow  the 
young  men  out  of  the  old  woman's  lodge  in  great  herds. 
On  the  following  day  the  two  young  men  reenter  the 


228  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

lodge  and  the  old  woman  instructs  them  as  to  how  to 
plant  corn.  When  they  come  out  of  her  lodge  one  bears 
a  pipe  and  a  bundle  of  paint,  the  other  seeds  of  corn 
and  vegetables.  From  this  little  supply  of  seed  each 
person,  including  the  children,  is  given  some  seed  corn 
and  some  pumpkin  seed,  and  all  of  the  males  are  given 
tobacco  seed.  The  people  now  move  to  a  good  planting 
place  and  Corn  Leaf  shows  them  how  to  plant  the  corn. 
"The  man  showed  them  how  to  dig  up  the  ground  and 
how  to  plant  this  corn,  in  quincunxes,  the  sharp  end  of 
the  grain  pointing  upward."  The  people  next  go  on  a 
buffalo  hunt  and  the  man  who  had  brought  out  the  pipe 
and  paint  (evidently  Red  Tassel)  teaches  them  the 
method  of  hunting  these  animals.  In  the  fall  they  re- 
turn and  harvest  their  crops.  ' '  Some  of  the  patches  did 
not  grow  very  well,  and  this  was  a  sign  that  whose  who 
had  planted  these  patches  would  not  live  very  long. 
Other  patches  grew  well,  and  this  was  a  sign  that  those 
who  had  planted  these  patches  would  live  to  a  great  age. 
This  is  where  the  first  corn  came  from." 

The  Inkesabe  gens  of  the  Omaha  have  a  tradition  of 
the  coming  forth  of  the  buffalo  from  a  cave  under  the 
earth.33  The  old  woman  who  kept  the  buffalo  and  corn 
is  not  mentioned,  however,  and  the  corn  is  not  included 
in  the  story.  In  this  same  gens  the  Ninibaton  subgens 
kept  the  sacred  pipes,  had  a  tabu  on  the  sacred  red  corn 
and  a  tradition  of  the  origin  of  that  corn.  This  tradi- 
tion states :  ' '  The  Inkesabe  were  the  first  of  the  Omaha 
to  exist.  There  were  one  man  and  one  woman.  They 
lived  together  and  children  were  born  to  them.  The  wo- 

33  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  147. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  229 

man  went  out  one  day  and  found  little  mounds  on  the 
ground.  In  a  few  days  she  went  again,  and  saw  that  out 
of  the  mounds  plants  were  growing  not  known  to  her. 
From  time  to  time  she  went  to  look  at  these  plants.  They 
grew  tall,  and  by  and  by  ears  grew  on  them.  These  she 
gathered  and  took  to  her  husband  and  children.  They 
roasted  the  ears  by  the  fire  and  ate  them.  These  were  the 
people  to  whom  the  corn  was  sacred ;  so  to  this  day  they 
do  not  eat  the  red  ear  of  corn. ' ' 34 

The  sacred  tradition  of  the  Omaha  states  that  the  buf- 
falo were  found  first,  then  the  corn.  "A  man  in  wander- 
ing about  found  some  kernels,  blue,  red,  and  white.  He 
thought  he  had  secured  something  of  great  value,  so  he 
concealed  them  in  a  mound.  One  day  he  thought  he 
would  go  to  see  if  they  were  safe.  When  he  came  to  the 
mound  he  found  it  covered  with  stalks  having  ears  bear- 
ing kernels  of  these  colors.  He  took  an  ear  of  each  kind 
and  gave  the  rest  to  the  people  to  experiment  with.  They 
tried  it  for  food,  found  it  good,  and  have  ever  since  called 
it  their  life.  As  soon  as  the  people  found  the  corn  good, 
they  thought  to  make  mounds  like  that  in  which  the 
kernels  had  been  hid.  So  they  took  the  shoulder  blade 
of  the  elk  and  built  mounds  like  the  first  and  buried  the 
corn  in  them.  So  the  corn  grew  and  the  people  had 
abundant  food. ' ' 35 

Henry  Fontenelle  in  1884  gave  the  same  Omaha  tra- 
dition, but  with  the  following  details:  The  Omahas 
were  living  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  long 
ago,  and  they  were  very  destitute.  One  day  a  man 

34  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  147. 
ss  Same,  p.  71. 


230  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

found  an  ear  of  corn  in  a  mole  hill.  He  divided  the 
seed  among  the  people ;  they  planted  the  corn,  and  from 
that  time  the  people  have  always  planted  corn.36 

The  sacred  tradition  of  the  Ponka,  given  by  Standing 
Buffalo  of  the  Wazhazhe  gens,  states  that  after  the  peo- 
ple had  wandered  a  long  time,  "Wakonda  gave  the 
people  a  bow,  a  dog,  and  a  grain  of  corn.  .  .  The  corn 
they  planted,  and  when  it  grew  they  found  it  good  to 
eat,  and  they  continued  to  plant  it. ' ' 37 

The  Honga  group  in  the  Osage  tribe  have  a  tradition 
that  when  the  land  appeared  out  of  the  water  the  elk 
rolled  in  the  mud,  his  loose  hairs  stuck  in  the  mud  and 
began  to  grow;  and  as  they  grew  they  turned  into  corn, 
bean  vines,  grass,  trees,  and  other  plants.38  One  of  Mr. 
Dorsey's  Osage  traditions,  however,  states  that  a  buffalo 
bull  dropped  four  ears  of  sacred  corn :  black,  red,  blue, 
white.39 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  these  traditions  relat- 
ing to  the  origin  of  the  corn  are  those  in  which  the  corn 
people  come  out  of  the  earth,  and  those  in  which  the  corn 
is  kept  by  the  old  woman  in-  her  underground  lodge. 

The  story  of  the  corn  people  we  find  among  the  Man- 
dans  and  Hidatsas  and  among  the  Arikaras  also :  a  fact 
which  raises  a  question  as  to  whether  the  tale  is  of  Siouan 
or  Caddoan  origin.  As  the  tale  is  not  found  among  the 
Pawnees  and  as  the  Arikaras  are  known  to  have  adopted 
many  of  the  customs  and  traditions  of  the  Mandans  dur- 

ae  Nebraska  Historical  Society,  Transactions,  v.  i,  p.  77. 

37  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  49. 

ss  Same,  p.  63. 

39  Dorsey,  Siouan  Sociology,  p.  237. 


MANDAN  BLACK  CORN 


233 


ing  their  long  intimacy  with,  that  tribe,  we  might  sup- 
pose the  tale  to  be  of  Siouan  origin ;  but  an  examination 
of  the  available  material  fails  to  disclose  any  such  tra- 
dition among  the  other  Siouan  tribes.  The  Omahas  have 
a  tradition  of  the  buffalo  coming  out  of  a  cave;  but  if 
they  ever  had  a  similar  tradition  of  the  origin  of  corn 
it  must  have  been  lost  long  ago. 

The  story  of  the  old  woman  who  kept  the  corn  and 
buffalo  is  found  among  the  Pawnees  (two  versions), 
among  the  Arikaras  (who  seem  to  imply  that  she  lived 
on  the  earth,  and  not  underground) ,  among  the  Mandans 
and  Hidatsas  (who  also  imply  that  she  lived  on  the  earth 
and  not  under  it),  among  the  Cheyennes  (who  have  at 
least  five  versions,  all  of  which  place  the  old  woman's 
home  underground),  and  among  the  Blackfeet.  The  At- 
sinas  have  the  same  tale  in  a  somewhat  different  form: 
The  girl  marries  the  Moon  instead  of  a  star;  when  she 
escapes  to  earth  and  is  killed  her  son  finds  an  old  woman 
who  has  a  field ;  he  steals  things  to  eat  from  the  field,  but 
just  what  he  takes  from  the  Grandmother's  field  is  not 
stated.  Neither  corn  or  vegetables  are  mentioned.40  The 
Arapahoes  also  have  several  versions  of  this  tale,  in  some 
of  which  the  boy  finds  the  old  woman,  Grandmother,  in 
others  she  is  not  mentioned,  and  in  none  of  the  stories  is 
her  field  or  garden  referred  to.41 

This  tale  of  the  woman  who  kept  the  plants  and  ani- 
mals that  supplied  the  people  with  food,  reminds  one  of 
the  Algonquian  tradition  of  Nanabozho  and  Mesakkum- 
mikokwi.  Nanabozho  is  the  life-giver ;  he  makes  animals 

40  Kroeber,  Gros  Venire  Myths  and  Tales,  p.  90. 

41  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  nos.  134-138. 


234 


and  plants  to  help  the  people,  and  also  plants  and  roots 
to  cure  disease  and  to  be  used  as  "medicine"  to  attract 
game  animals.  "These  plants  he  confided  to  the  watch- 
ful care  of  his  grandmother,  the  great-grandmother  of 
the  human  race,  Mesakkummikokwi,  and  lest  any  man 
should  invoke  her  in  vain  she  was  strictly  forbidden  ever 
to  leave  her  lodge.  So,  when  collecting  plants,  roots, 
and  herbs  for  their  natural  and  magic  virtues,  an  Al- 
gonquian  Indian  faithfully  leaves  on  the  ground  hard  by 
the  place  whence  he  has  taken  the  root  or  plant  a  small 
offering  to  Mesakkummikokwi. ' '  42  This  is  evidently  a 
tradition  of  the  non-agricultural  Algonquians  who  lived 
by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  we  may  conceive  how  natural 
it  would  be  for  one  of  these  tribes,  like  the  Cheyennes,  on 
first  procuring  corn  to  attribute  the  gift  to  the  grand- 
mother, Mesakkummikokwi. 

The  tradition  giving  the  origin  of  corn  preserved  by 
the  Potawatamis  and  some  other  agricultural  Algonquian 
tribes  states  that  after  the  flood  a  man  was  created,  and 
as  he  was  lonely  he  was  given  a  sister  to  keep  him  com- 
pany. The  man  dreams  that  five  man-beings  will  visit 
his  sister.  She  must  reject  the  first  four  and  welcome 
the  fifth.  The  first  four  to  arrive  are  Sama  or  Tobacco, 
Wapekone  or  Squash,  Eshketamok  or  Melon,  and  Kojees 
or  Bean.  On  being  rejected  by  the  girl  they  fall  dead. 
The  fifth  man  then  appears.  He  is  Mandamin,  or  Corn. 
The  girl  takes  him  for  her  husband.  He  buries  the 
bodies  of  his  four  rivals,  and  from  them  grow  tobacco, 
squashes,  melons,  and  beans.  From  the  marriage  of  the 
girl  with  Mandamin  sprang  the  Indian  race.43  In 

42  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  ii,  p.  21. 

43  Same,  pp.  21-22. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  235 

another  Algonquian  tradition  —  the  one  made  famous 
by  Schoolcraft  and  Longfellow  —  Mandamin  wrestles 
with  a  young  man,  is  overcome  and  buried,  and  from 
his  body  corn  grows.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  these 
eastern  and  central  Algonquian  tales  the  corn  is  male  and 
is  presented  as  a  young  man;  while  in  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri area  the  corn  is  invariably  referred  to  as  female 
and  is  personified  as  a  woman. 

Although  the  Arapahoes,  as  late  as  1880,  had  a  tradi- 
tion that  they  formerly  planted  corn  on  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri, their  sacred  traditions  collected  in  recent  years  by 
Dorsey  and  .Kroeber  contain  only  one  mention  of  corn. 
This  is  found  in  the  second  fragment  of  the  origin  myth. 
In  these  myths  the  Flat  Pipe,  the  tribal  medicine,  is  us- 
ually referred  to  as  the  creator.  In  the  second  frag- 
ment, which  appears  to  be  much  less  corrupted  with  mod- 
ern additions  than  the  others,  we  are  told  that  the  pipe 
was  floating  on  the  great  flood,  and  on  the  pipe  rested  a 
man,  his  wife,  and  their  boy.  The  man  sets  about  mak- 
ing the  earth.  A  duck  brings  him  some  mud  from  the 
bottom  and  he  makes  a  little  earth,  but  it  is  not  large 
enough.  The  turtle  then  brings  up  more  mud  and  the 
man  makes  the  present  earth.  He  then  takes  the  pipe 
and  with  its  aid  makes  rivers  and  creeks,  mountains  and 
hills.  ' '  The  man  then  lived  on  dry  land  with  his  family. 
He  took  the  duck  and  turtle  and  placed  them  with  the 
flat  pipe.  Some  time  afterwards,  these  made  Indian 
corn  for  the  first  food.  Thus  the  earth  was  made,  and 
the  flat  pipe  contained  then  the  body  of  a  duck,  and  turtle 
and  corn. ' ' 4*  Here  we  have  the  corn  made  first.  In 


44  Dorsey  and  Kroeber,  Traditions  of  the  Arapaho,  p.  3. 


236  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

all  of  the  other  Arapaho  and  Gros  Ventre  traditions  the 
animals  are  made  first;  indeed,  corn  is  not  mentioned  in 
any  of  them.  The  Arapahoes  still  preserve  with  the 
sacred  pipe  a  stone  image  of  an  ear  of  sacred  corn.  Clark 
states  that  he  was  informed  in  1881  that  an  ear  of  corn 
was  given  to  the  Arapahoes  by  their  "god"  before  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  the  east.45 


«  dark,  Indian  Sign  Language. 


VII— CORN  CEREMONIES 

1.     CERKMONIAL    ORGANIZATION.    2.     SACRED    CORN.    3. 
SPRING,  SUMMER,  AND  PALL  CEREMONIES.    4.    VARI- 
OUS CEREMONIES,   BELIEFS,  AND  PRACTICES 

During  the  past  one  hundred  years  considerable  ma- 
terial on  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  agricultural 
tribes  of  the  Upper  Missouri  has  been  published  and,  in- 
cidentally, the  ceremonies  connected  with  the  cultivation 
of  corn  have  often  been  described.  Much  of  this  ma- 
terial, however,  is  of  a  fragmentary  character,  and  too 
often  it  has  been  gathered  by  men  who  seem  to  have 
thought  the  ceremonies  connected  with  corn  and  its  culti- 
vation of  no  special  interest  and  worthy  only  of  passing 
notice. 

So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  no  careful  de- 
tailed account  of  any  of  the  interesting  Pawnee  and  An- 
kara corn  ceremonies  has  ever  appeared.  There  is  Miss 
Alice  Fletcher's  splendid  volume  on  the  Pawnee  Hako; 
but  the  Hako  is  not  a  true  corn  ceremony.  On  the  Man- 
dan  and  Hidatsa  ceremonies  somewhat  fuller  information 
has  been  published,  but  it  is  of  a  rather  unsatisfactory 
nature,  and  we  are  usually  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  under- 
lying meaning  of  things.  The  corn  rites  of  the  Omahas 
have  not  been  practiced  for  a  very  long  time  and  all  de- 
tailed knowledge  of  them  apparently  has  been  lost.  Of 
the  corn  ceremonies  of  the  other  Upper  Missouri  tribes 
we  have  no  information  whatever. 


238  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Judging  from  the  material  available,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  corn  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Upper  Missouri 
tribes  were  never  as  elaborate  as  those  of  the  tribes  of 
the  Southwest  and  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  valley.  There 
is  evidence,  however,  that  some  of  these  tribes  formerly 
had  corn  ceremonies  more  highly  developed,  and  that 
upon  reaching  the  buffalo  plains,  two  hundred  to  three 
hundred  years  ago,  the  corn  rites  were  gradually  given 
up  or  subordinated  to  the  more  important  buffalo  rites. 
Among  the  Omahas  we  find  clear  evidence  of  this. 
Among  the  Pawnees  the  corn  rites  are  said  to  be  the 
oldest  and  the  most  important;  and  yet  we  have  very 
good  evidence  that  the  Pawnees  have  lived  in  the  buffalo 
plains  longer  than  any  of  these  Siouan  tribes,  with 
which  we  are  dealing. 

1.     Ceremonial  organization 

What  this  older  ceremonial  organization  —  on  an  agri- 
cultural basis  —  may  have  been  like  in  its  prime  it  is 
very  difficult  to  judge  from  the  meager  material  now 
available.  The  Pawnees  appear  to  have  preserved  their 
corn  ceremonies  and  ceremonial  organization  much  more 
fully  than  have  the  other  tribes  under  consideration. 
Nevertheless,  we  have  little  detailed  information  concern- 
ing Pawnee  corn  priests  and  their  work. 

The  Pawnees  do  not  appear  ever  to  have  had  a  clan 
organization.  They  were  organized  into  village-groups, 
each  of  which  had  a  sacred  bundle,  which  had  usually 
been  given  by  a  star.  These  bundles  were  termed  ' '  rains 
wrapped  up"  and  were  in  the  hands  of  hereditary 
keepers;  the  rites  accompanying  the  bundles  were  kept 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  239 

by  priests  and  the  priesthood  was  not  hereditary  but  was 
''open  to  all  proper  aspirants."1 

In  the  Skidi  creation  myth,  as  told  by  Irisa,  an  old 
priest,  it  is  stated  that  the  son  of  the  first  pair  of  human 
beings  was  led  toward  the  west  by  a  meadow  lark  and 
there  found  the  four  servants  of  the  Evening  Star  — 
Cloud,  Thunder,  Lightning,  and  Wind  —  sitting  in  a 
lodge,  who  taught  him  prayers  to  the  Evening  Star  (the 
First  Mother)  for  good  crops  and  abundant  supplies1  of 
buffalo.  They  taught  him  how  to  plant  and  gave  him  a 
bundle  containing  seed;  and  when  he  returned  to  the 
people  he  became  the  first  head-priest.  In  the  spring  he 
gave  the  people  seed  to  plant,  and  in  the  fall  the  people 
returned  seed  of  the  new  crop  to  him,  to  be  placed  in 
the  sacred  bundle.2 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  keeper  of  the  sacred 
bundle  of  each  village  was  considered  the  head-priest. 
He  kept  the  bundle  and,  perhaps,  directed  the  rites 
which  were  performed  by  the  other  priests.  These  vil- 
lage bundles  were  all  wrapped  in  buffalo  skin  and.  each 
contained  Mother  Corn,  a  pipe,  tobacco,  paints,  and  some 
birds.  Their  contents  differed  only  in  minor  details. 
Each  bundle  had  its  own  ritual,  tabus,  and  sacrifices. 
To  the  Morning  Star  bundle  (male)  the  Skidi  made 
human  sacrifices.  Captured  maidens  were  sacrificed  to 
this  star.  But  to  the  bundle  of  the  Evening  Star  (the 
First  Mother)  only  the  heart  and  tongue  of  the  buffalo 
and  some  tobacco  were  sacrificed. 

Whether  the  Pawnees  had  special  priests  to  perform 

i  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  ii,  p.  215. 
aDorsey,  Traditions  of  the  STcidi  Pawnee,  p.  21. 


240  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

the  pumpkin,  bean,  and  other  rites  which  they  practiced, 
is  not  stated. 

The  Arikara  ceremonial  organization,  from  what  little 
can  be  learned  of  it,  appears  to  have  been  very  similar  to 
that  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee.  Like  the  Skidi,  they  had  corn 
priests  and  sacred  bundles,  but  their  bundles  were  given 
to  them  by  Mother  Corn  herself,  and  not  by  the  stars. 
Their  organization  was  based  on  the  village,  each  village 
having  its  own  sacred  bundle  and  rites.  Besides  the 
Mother  Corn  bundles,  the  Arikaras  also  had  the  Bird 
Case  and  the  Seven  Gourds,  and  these  things  also  had 
their  special  rituals. 

Besides  the  village  bundles,  each  Arikara  (and  Paw- 
nee?) family  had  its  own  sacred  bundle,  containing, 
among  other  things,  an  ear  of  corn,  which  symbolized  the 
Corn  Mother.  Matthews  (p.  13)  :  "In  every  Arikaree 
lodge  there  is  a  large  ear  of  corn  which  has  lasted  for 
generations,  sticking  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  medicine 
bag.  At  their  feasts  they  make  offerings  to  the  corn  by 
rubbing  a  piece  of  meat  on  it  while  they  pray  to  it  for 
plentiful  harvest,  and  address  it  by  the  name  of  Mother. ' ' 

All  of  the  agricultural  Siouan  tribes  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri, with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Mandans  and 
Hidatsas,  had  a  well  developed  gentile  organization,  very 
different  from  the  village  organization  of  the  Pawnees 
and  Arikaras.  Among  these  Siouan  peoples  the  rites 
and  the  sacred  objects  (which  take  the  place  of  the 
sacred  bundles  of  the  Pawnees  and  Arikaras)  were  the 
hereditary  possessions  of  certain  gentes  and  subgentes. 

In  historic  times  the  rites  and  sacred  objects  of  the 
Omaha-Ponka  had  mainly  to  do  with  the  hunting  of  the 


OF  THE  UPPEE  MISSOURI  241 

buffalo.  These  people  gave  to  the  buffalo  a  higher  place 
than  they  did  to  the  corn:  to  them  the  buffalo  was  a 
"grandmother"  and  the  corn  only  a  "mother."  The 
evidence,  however,  points  strongly  to  the  fact  that  prior 
to  their  arrival  in  the  Missouri  Valley  the  Omaha-Ponka 
(then  organized  in  a  single  tribal  group)  gave  to  the  corn 
the  higher  place  and  that  their  rather  highly  developed 
ceremonial  organization  had  mainly  to  do  with  the  pro- 
curing of  abundant  crops.  All  detailed  knowledge  of 
this  older  ceremonial  organization  appears  to  have  been 
lost;  but  the  following  fragments  of  information  will 
exhibit  the  systems  in  outline. 

The  Ninibaton  subgens  of  the  Inkesabe  gens  have  the 
tradition  of  the  origin  of  the  sacred  red  corn,  and  they 
have  a  tabu  on  the  eating  of  that  corn.  This  subgens 
kept  the  sacred  tribal  pipes  and  the  rites  connected  with 
the  cultivation  of  the  maize.  "This  indicates  that  the 
group  who  controlled  the  rites  of  the  maize  were  regarded 
as  the  proper  persons  to  have  the  care  of  the  symbol  of 
tribal  authority  because  of  their  connection  with  the  an- 
cient sacred  rites  which  secured  food  for  the  people. ' ' 3 
The  hair  of  the  Ninibaton  children  was  all  cut  off  with 
the  exception  of  two  little  round  tufts  which  were  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  mounds  in  which  the  sacred  red 
corn  was  discovered.  This  division  also  provided  the 
ears  of  sacred  red  corn  to  be  used  in  the  spring  rites. 
Four  seeds  of  this  sacred  corn  were  given  to  each  family. 
The  Ninibaton  also  had  charge  of  the  Hedewachi  cere- 
mony, a  very  old  rite,  resembling  in  some  ways  the  Sun 
Dance,  and  dating  back  to  the  time  previous  to  the  tribe 's 

a  Fletcher  and  La  Flesche,  p.  148. 


242  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

arrival  in  the  buffalo  plains.  The  tribal  herald  was  also 
a  Ninibaton  man;  indeed  this  division  which  had  the 
sacred  red  corn  and  its  rites  appears  to  have  been  the 
most  important  one  in  ancient  times. 

The  Omaha  corn  rites  were  all  of  the  Wewaspe  class  — 
that  is,  they  were  official  or  tribal  rites.  They  were  in 
the  nature  of  prayers  from  the  whole  tribe  to  Wakonda. 

The  Hongaxti  division  had  charge  of  the  rites  con- 
nected with  the  cultivation  of  corn.  In  the  spring  the 
Ninibaton  gave  ears  of  the  sacred  corn  to  the  Hongaxti 
men,  who  performed  the  sacred  rites.  The  seed  was  then 
distributed  among  the  people.  The  Washabeton  sub- 
gens  kept  the  sacred  White  Buffalo  Hide  and  its  rites  and 
had  the  White  Buffalo  Tent.  On  this  tent  are  painted 
two  plants  of  growing  corn  with  green  ears.  The  Hon- 
gaxti have  a  tabu  on  the  husks  of  green  corn.  The  evi- 
dence seems  to  indicate  that  the  Hongaxti  were  formerly 
a  very  important  group,  having  charge  of  rites  connected 
with  the  consecration  of  seed,  the  planting  and  cultiva- 
tion of  corn;  that  they  had  a  sacred  tent  with  growing 
corn  plants  painted  thereon ;  but  that  upon  arriving  in 
the  buffalo  plains  the  old  corn  rites  became  subordinated 
to  buffalo  rites,  and  the  sacred  green  corn  tent  was  turned 
into  a  sacred  buffalo  tent.4 

The  Thatada  gens  had  three  subdivisions  which 
possessed  rites  connected  with  the  cultivation  of  corn. 
Of  these  divisions  the  Wasabe  "shared  in  the  rites  ob- 
served at  the  awakening  of  spring ; "  it  had  a  black  bear 

*  Fletcher  and  Le  Flesche,  p.  155.  Mr.  Dorsey  states  that  the 
Inkesabe  sacred  tent  had  plants  of  green  corn  painted  on  it,  the 
green  ears  painted  with  black  tips. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  243 

tabu  and  old  rites  connected  with,  the  black  bear,  which 
have  been  lost  long  since.  The  Wazhinga  subgens  had  a 
tabu  on  birds  and  possessed  rites  for  the  protection  of 
the  crops,  now  lost.  Mr.  Dorsey  states  that  Fire  Chief, 
who  belonged  to  this  Omaha  subgens,  had  stalks  of  grow- 
ing corn  painted  on  his  lodge,  and  that  the  men  of  this 
division  feared  to  eat  the  first  ears  of  corn  that  matured, 
because  if  they  did  so  the  small  birds,  and  particularly 
the  blackbirds,  would  come  and  devour  the  rest  of  the 
crops.  The  Kein  subgens  had  rain  rites,  long  since  lost, 
and  a  tabu  on  turtles.  This  division  protected  the  crops 
both  by  bringing  rain  when  needed  and  by  dispelling 
violent  storms  that  might  have  injured  the  corn. 

The  Inshtasunda  gens,  which  had  a  tabu  on  worms  and 
insects,  formerly  possessed  rites  for  protecting  the  corn 
from  such  creatures. 

The  oldest  sacred  objects  preserved  by  the  Omahas, 
the  Shell  and  the  Cedar  Pole,  are  supposed  to  have  been 
connected  with  agricultural  rites  in  ancient  times. 

There  are  many  more  little  fragments  of  evidence  — 
all  pointing  to  the  conclusion  that  the  old  Omaha-Ponka 
group  had  a  very  high  reverence  for  the  corn,  and  that 
in  their  ceremonial  organization  each  gens  and  subgens 
performed  certain  rites  and  duties,  one  group  keeping 
the  sacred  corn  and  its  tradition,  another  consecrating  the 
seed  and  performing  the  rites  connected  with  planting 
and  cultivation,  while  other  groups  protected  the  corn 
from  insects,  brought  rain,  and  insured  abundant 
harvests. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  ceremonial  organiza- 
tion of  the  other  Siouan  tribes  living  farther  to  the 


244  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

south:  the  lowas,  Otoes,  and  Missouris,  the  Kansa  and 
Osages,  was  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Omaha-Ponka 
group,  but  we  have  less  information  on  the  old  organiza- 
tion of  these  tribes.  The  lowas  although  now  almost 
extinct,  as  far  as  full-bloods  are  concerned,  still  have 
two  sacred  varieties  of  corn,  one  of  which  belongs  to  the 
Arukhwa  or  Buffalo  gens.  This  is  a  red  corn,  and  the 
Arukhwa  people  have  a  tabu  on  eating  it.5 

Among  the  other  two  agricultural  Siouan  tribes  of  this 
area  —  the  Mandans  and  Hidatsas  —  we  fail  to  find  the 
same  clear  evidence  of  an  older  ceremonial  organization 
with  the  corn  rites  in  the  hands  of  certain  gentes  and 
subgentes.  In  these  two  tribes  most  of  the  corn  rites 
were  kept  by  the  Corn  Priest,  and  by  the  Goose  Society, 
an  organization  of  women.  This  society  also  had  buffalo 
rites. 

The  Corn  Priest,  or  Corn  Singer,  among  the  Mandans 
had  many  duties  besides  that  of  singing  and  drumming 
for  the  Goose  "Women.  In  the  spring  he  distributed  the 
sacred  seed  and  sometimes  performed  a  special  rite  of 
cleansing  the  seed.  During  the  growing  season  he  per- 
formed the  duties  of  a  peace  chief.  There  was  no  tribal 
harvest  ceremony,  but  in  the  fall  the  priest  was  called 
upon  to  perform  the  rites  termed  "Offerings  to  the 
Corn,"  as  some  of  the  women  were  always  anxious  to 
make  these  offerings.  In  the  winter  whenever  a  cache 
was  opened  the  priest  was  called  in  to  bless  its  contents. 
It  is  stated  that  he  could  bring  rain  and  prevent  early 
frosts,  hail,  and  wind  storms.  He  also  kept,  or  used,  the 
sacred  pipe. 

5  Information  of  Joseph  Springer,  an  Arukhwa  man. 


Above:     Two  EARS  OF  PAWNEE  BLUE  SPECKLED  CORN 
Below:     SCATTERED   CORN,   DAUGHTER   OF   THE  LAST 
MANDAN  CORN  PRIEST 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  247 

The  Mandan  Mi  'ra  i'  ke'  or  Goose  Society  was  com- 
posed of  women,  the  average  age  of  the  members  being 
about  thirty  years,  although  some  of  them  joined  the  so- 
ciety when  they  were  only  thirteen.  There  were  always 
two  young  girls  in  the  society.  The  Goose  Women  would 
cast  about  for  a  young  girl  well  beloved  by  her  family 
and  would  then  attempt  to  gain  the  parents'  consent  to 
the  girl's  adoption  into  the  society.  Calf -Woman,  who 
was  adopted  in  this  way  when  a  young  girl,  stated  that 
she  was  chosen  by  Bells-looks-round,  a  male  singer  who 
also  served  as  musician  for  the  White  Buffalo  Women 
Society.6  Her  father  paid  a  great  deal  of  calico  and 
other  property  to  the  Goose  Women.  The  two  young 
girls  of  the  society  wore  headbands  made  of  duck  skins 
with  the  bills  still  attached,  while  the  older  members 
wore  narrow  headbands  of  goose  skin.  The  normal 
method  of  entering  the  Goose  Society  was  for  the  entire 
River  Women's  Society  to  purchase  all  of  the  regalia 
and  other  appurtenances  of  the  Goose  Society.  There 
were  several  of  these  women's  societies  among  the  Man- 
dans,  some  of  them  for  young  girls,  some  for  young 
women,  and  others  for  the  older  women.  A  group  of 
young  girls  entering  the  society  of  lowest  rank  gradually 
purchased  their  way  up  through  the  series  of  societies 
until  they  reached  the  Goose  Society,  which  appears  to 
have  been  the  highest  in  rank.  Its  rites  had  to  do  with 
the  procuring  of  abundant  food  for  the  tribe,  the  spring 

s  The  account  of  the  Goose  Society  given  here  is  taken  very 
largely  from  Dr.  Robert  H.  Lowie's  paper,  in  v.  Ixxxi,  part  iii, 
Anthropological  Papers  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory. 


248  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

rites  being  in  the  nature  of  prayers  for  good  crops,  the 
fall  rites  prayers  for  a  successful  buffalo  hunt. 

The  purpose  of  the  organization  of  the  Goose  "Women 
Society  is  made  fairly  clear  by  Maximilian.  He  says: 
"The  Old  Woman  Who  Never  Dies  sends  in  the  spring 
the  water  fowl,  swans,  geese  and  ducks,  as  symbols  of  the 
kinds  of  grain  cultivated  by  the  Indians.  The  wild  goose 
signifies  maize,  the  swan,  the  gourd ;  the  duck,  the  beans. 
It  is  the  Old  Woman  that  causes  plants  to  grow  and 
therefore  she  sends  these  birds  as  her  signs  and  repre- 
sentatives." 

The  Hidatsas  had  a  similar  Goose  Society,  evidently 
adopted  from  the  Mandans. 

In  connection  with  this  Siouan  belief  that  the  geese 
and  blackbirds  were  the  special  servants  of  an  old  woman 
who  gave  the  people  their  food,  we  may  note  the  use 
of  the  goose  and  blackbird  in  the  Arapaho  sacred  Rab- 
bit Lodge,  the  tent  in  which  the  Sun  Dance  preparations 
were  made,  and  also  the  Arapaho  belief,  expressed  in 
some  of  their  traditions,  that  when  the  geese  traveled 
north  or  south  they  carried  blackbirds  on  their  backs. 
There  is  also  the  Arikara  tale  of  the  old  woman  who 
kept  a  field  of  corn  and  had  flocks  of  blackbirds  to 
assist  her. 

2.     Sacred  corn 

Very  little  has  been  learned  of  the  sacred  corn  of  the 
Upper  Missouri  tribes;  but  it  is  known  that  nearly  all 
of  these  tribes  had  sacred  varieties  of  corn.  This  sacred 
corn  was  brought  in  in  a  great  many  rites  and  ceremonies 
ranging  in  importance  from  the  little  household  rites 
of  daily  life  to  the  great  ceremonies  like  the  Pawnee 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  249 

Hako.  One  of  the  commonest  uses  of  the  sacred  corn 
was  in  the  consecration  of  seed  at  planting-time,  when 
each  woman  was  given  three  or  four  kernels  of  sacred 
corn  to  mix  with  her  supply  of  seed. 

The  Pawnees  had  at  least  four  varieties  of  sacred 
corn.  These  were  the  white  or  Mother  Corn,  the  most 
sacred  of  them  all,  which  represented  a  star  in  the  south- 
west (the  Evening  Star)  and  perhaps  also  symbolized  the 
Earth  and  Summer ;  the  black  corn,  representing,  a  star 
in  the  northeast  (Black-Star  —  Night)  and  which  may 
have  symbolized  Winter ;  the  yellow  corn,  representing  a 
star  in  the  northwest  (Yellow  Star)  which  stood  near 
where  the  sun  set,  turning  all  things  yellow,  and  which 
perhaps  symbolized  the  Sun;  and  the  red  corn,  repre- 
senting a  star  in  the  southeast,  "standing  near  the 
Moon"  and  perhaps  symbolizing  the  Moon.  In  Mr. 
Dorsey's  Traditions  of  the  Skidi  Pawnee  it  is  stated  on 
pages  10  and  12  that  four  of  the  ancient  Skidi  villages 
had  four  bundles  which  were  known  as  the  Four  Direc- 
tions bundles.  These  villages  camped  in  a  manner  to 
represent  on  earth  the  positions  of  the  four  stars  in  the 
heavens  from  which  these  sacred  bundles  had  come :  the 
southwest  village  had  the  white  corn  bundle  (called 
"Mother  born  again"),  the  northeast  village  had  the 
black  corn  bundle  (called  "Leading  woman  ready  to 
give"),7  the  northwest  village  had  the  yellow  corn 
bundle  (called  "Yellow  tipi"),  and  the  southeast  village 
had  the  red  corn  bundle  (called  "Round  on  top") .  It  is 

7  There  was  another  Skidi  village  that  stood  in  the  northeast 
and  was  called  "Black  Corn  Woman  Village."  This  black  star 
sent  buffalo  to  feed  the  people. 


250  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

stated  that  the  four  large  posts  in  the  Pawnee  earth- 
lodge  represented  these  four  stars  and  their  colors,  and 
that  corn  of  each  color  was  employed  in  rites  that  were 
performed  at  the  foot  of  the  post  that  represented  the 
same  color  and  the  same  star.8 

The  Arikaras  also  had  four  colors  of  sacred  (?)  corn, 
given  by  Mother  Corn,  but  it  is  very  probable  that 
Mother  Corn  represents  the  Evening  Star  of  the  south- 
west, as  at  the  time  when  she  gave  the  four  sacred  ears  to 
the  people  the  black  meteoric  star  of  the  northeast  came 
down  to  earth  and  joined  her.  The  four  ears  she  gave 
to  the  people  were  of  the  same  colors  as  the  sacred  ears 
of  the  Pawnees,  red,  yellow,  black  and  white.9  In 
Fletcher  and  La  Plesche  (p.  76)  there  is  an  Omaha  tra- 
dition of  the  origin  of  corn,  which  is  attributed  to  the 
Arikaras.  This  tradition  states  that  a  young  Arikara 
was  given  by  a  mysterious  buffalo  three  ears  of  corn : 
yellow,  blue,  and  white.  This  does  not  sound  like  a  Cad- 
doan  tradition,  but  reminds  one  of  the  Osage  tale  of  the 
sacred  buffalo  bringing  corn  to  the  people.  Like  the 
Pawnees,  the  Arikaras  placed  their  sacred  ears  in 
bundles.  What  other  use  they  made  of  them  is  not 
clearly  known. 

s  In  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  i,  p.  411, 
the  colors  of  the  Pawnee  Four  Directions  stars  are  given  as: 
black,  north;  yellow,  south;  white,  east  (?);  and  red,  west  (?). 
It  is  also  stated  that  black  symbolized  the  Morning  Star  (male) 
and  white  the  Evening  Star  (female).  The  directions  given  are 
evidently  incorrect,  as  the  black  star  was  certainly  in  the  north- 
east with  the  white  or  Evening  Star  opposite  it,  and  the  yellow 
star  in  the  northwest  with  the  red  star  opposite  it. 

9  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arikara,  p.  22. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  251 

There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  record  of  the  Man- 
dans  and  Hidatsas  ever  having  sacred  varieties  of  corn. 

The  Omahas  had  the  sacred  red  corn  which  was  em- 
ployed in  consecrating  seed  in  the  spring.  The  division 
of  the  Inkesabe  gens  that  kept  the  red  corn  and  its  tra- 
dition had  a  tabu  on  eating  it.  Long  (1819)  states  that 
the  first  man  of  this  division  came  up  out  of  the  flood 
with  an  ear  of  the  sacred  red  corn  in  his  hand.  The 
modern  version  of  the  tradition  states  that  the  corn  was 
found  in  a  mound. 

Dorsey10  gives  an  Osage  tradition  concerning  the 
sacred  buffalo  that  gave  the  people  four  ears  of  corn: 
black,  red,  blue,  and  white.  This  was  evidently  a  tradi- 
tion of  the  Tsicu  people  who  belonged  to  the  peace  divi- 
sion of  the  Osage  tribe.  In  the  ceremony  of  naming  the 
child,  an  old  Tsicu  man  took  four  kernels  of  these  colors 
and  after  chewing  them  up  placed  them  in  the  child's 
mouth. 

The  lowas  still  have  two  varieties  of  sacred  corn.  The 
Arukhwa  or  Buffalo  gens  has  a  red  corn  and  a  tabu  on 
eating  it.  Another  gens  (name  not  secured)  has  a  dark 
brown  sacred  corn.  Joseph  Springer,  an  Arukhwa  man, 
states  that  the  sacred  corn  is  used  in  "feasts"  of  a  cere- 
monial nature  and  for  no  other  purpose.  Dr.  S.  R.  Dins- 
more,  of  Troy,  Kansas,  in  a  letter  to  one  of  the  authors, 
states  that  years  ago  the  Rev.  S.  M.  Irvin  informed  him 
that  while  he  was  missionary  among  the  lowas,  Sacs,  and 
Foxes  in  eastern  Kansas  (about  1835),  one  of  these 
tribes,  presumably  the  lowas,  had  a  sacred  red  corn  the 
seed  of  which  was  kept  by  the  medicine-men.  No  woman 

10  Siouan  Sociology,  p.  237. 


252 


was  permitted  to  touch,  the  corn ;  and  it  was  planted  and 
cared  for  by  the  medicine-men  or  priests  themselves.  He 
stated  also  that  the  main  crop  of  these  Indians  was  a 
corn  of  bluish  color  —  evidently  the  blue  flour  corn  that 
is  still  commonly  grown  by  the  lowas. 

Among  the  Kansa,  according  to  Dorsey,  the  earth- 
lodge  people  (a  peace  division?)  had  charge  of  both  the 
corn  and  the  buffalo  rites.  Whether  this  tribe  had  a 
sacred  variety  of  corn  or  not  is  unknown,  but  since  Dor- 
sey states  that  they  had  a  rite  for  consecrating  seed  corn 
it  would  seem  probable  that  they  had  a  sacred  variety. 

In  the  Cheyenne  tradition  the  Grandmother  gives  to 
the  two  young  men  five  colors  of  corn:  red,  blue,  white, 
yellow,  and  black,  but  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  tribe  really  had  five  colors  of 
sacred  corn.  Mr.  George  Bird  Grinnell  has  kindly  per- 
mitted the  use  of  the  following  information  from  his 
notes,  collected  among  the  Northern  Cheyennes: 

"According  to  old  women  and  old  men  who  died  be- 
tween 1900  and  1915,  they  kept  up  their  corn  dance  until 
1876  and  retained  the  sacred  ear  of  corn,  which  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  an  ear  raised  from  the  original  seed 
brought  by  one  of  the  two  young  men  who  went  into  the 
spring  and  received  the  buffalo  meat,  corn,  and  other 
things  from  the  old  woman  within  the  hill.  This  ear 
of  corn  was  kept  so  that,  by  watching,  caring  for  it,  and 
treating  it  with  respect,  it  should  influence  the  crops, 
make  them  grow  well  and  insure  a  plentiful  harvest. 
After  farming  was  generally  abandoned,  the  ear  was 
retained  as  a  sacred  object. 

"This  sacred  ear  of  corn,  which  was  lost  in  the  Me- 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  253 

Kenzie  fight,  1876,  was  kept  by  a  man  who  is  said  always 
to  have  been  fortunate,  and  to  have  had  an  abundance  of 
property.  He  seemed  always  to  secure  many  horses  and 
to  be  able  to  keep  them. 

' '  The  ear  of  corn  belonged  to  the  tribe,  but  he  kept  it 
and  cared  for  it,  and  after  he  died  it  was  handed  over  to 
another  keeper.  This  ear  was  thought  to  have  been  of 
the  first  crop  the  Cheyennes  raised  after  receiving  seed 
from  the  old  woman;  it  was  sacred  and  possessed  great 
spiritual  power.  The  keeper  taught  one  or  two  men  its 
secrets  and  the  method  of  caring  for  the  ear,  and  when 
the  keeper  died  the  ear  passed  into  the  hands  of  one  of 
these  instructed  men.  He  in  turn  taught  one  or  two 
others ;  and  so  for  generations  the  ear  was  handed  down. 
The  last  man  to  have  charge  of  the  ear  was  Bridge,  who 
was  killed  at  Fort  Robinson,  1879,  but  the  ear  was  lost 
two  years  earlier,  when  Colonel  McKenzie  captured  Dull 
Knife's  camp  near  the  head  of  the  Tongue  River. 

' '  The  old  women  and  men  related  that  the  corn  dance 
came  down  from  the  time  when  the  tribe  first  planted 
and  was  practiced  up  to  the  time  of  the  McKenzie  fight. 
The  ceremony  was  thus  kept  up  long  after  the  practice 
of  agriculture  had  been  abandoned.  Young  girls  and 
middle-aged  women  performed  the  ceremony,  dancing 
in  a  circle,  while  a  man  shook  a  gourd  rattle,  which  they 
called  (and  which  symbolized)  the  pumpkin  —  in  Chey- 
enne, ma  oh  (?)."  The  woman  who  led  the  dance  car- 

11  The  common  Cheyenne  rattle  was  made  of  rawhide,  but  sev- 
eral of  the  Northern  Cheyenne  doctors  used  gourd  rattles  in  cur- 
ing the  sick.  This  man  Bridge,  who  kept  the  sacred  ear,  is  said 
to  have  used  a  gourd  rattle  in  a  wonderful  cure  of  a  wounded 


254 


ried  the  sacred  ear  on  a  stick  which  was  fitted  into  a  hole 
in  the  butt  of  the  ear.  In  later  times  the  ceremony  was 
occasionally  held  as  a  social  dance  —  one  of  rejoicing  — 
as,  for  example,  on  the  return  of  a  successful  war  party, 
in  which  no  one  had  been  wounded.  They  say  now  that 
it  is  not  remembered  whether  any  motions  of  hoeing  corn 
were  made  during  the  dance  or  whether  there  were  any 
rites  preceding  the  dance. ' ' 

Although  the  Southern  Cheyennes  have  not  at  the 
present  day  any  recollection  of  the  sacred  ear  of  corn 
and  the  corn  dance  Mr.  Grinnell  refers  to,  they  remem- 
ber very  well  Bridge  and  the  other  doctors  —  as  they  call 
them  —  who  practiced  the  '  'Ree  method  of  curing. "  The 
doctor  sometimes  had  women  helpers  who  are  said  to 
have  carried  one  or  more  ears  of  corn  with  which  they 
made  motions  toward  the  sick  person,  while  the  doctor 
sang  and  rattled  his  gourd. 

Clark,  Indian  Sign  Language,  states  that  the  Arapa- 
hoes  informed  him,  about  1881,  that  their  "god"  gave 
them  an  ear  of  sacred  corn  before  he  returned  to  the 
east,  and  Mr.  Mooney  (Kiowa  Calendar,  p.  242)  says 
that  the  Northern  Arapahoes  still  have  the  tribal  sacred 
bundle,  containing  the  Flat  Pipe,  Turtle,  and  Ear  of 
Corn,  all  made  of  stone.  One  of  the  Arapaho  sacred 
tradition  fragments  also  refers  to  the  origin  of  corn  and 
the  placing  of  corn  with  the  Flat  Pipe  and  Turtle.  It 

man  in  a  camp  on  Eepublican  River  in  1867.  This  was  called  by 
some  of  the  Cheyennes  the  ' '  Bee  method  of  doctoring ' '  and  is  said 
today  to  have  been  learned  from  the  Rees.  The  Cheyenne  name 
for  the  buttes  near  the  head  of  Powder  River,  commonly  called 
Pumpkin  Buttes,  is  "Pumpkin-rattle  Buttes"  or  "Gourd-rat- 
tle Buttes." 


MANDAN  SOFT  YELLOW  CORN 


CORN  AMONG-  THE  INDIANS  257 

is  strange  that  these  two  Algonquian  tribes,  the  Chey- 
ennes  and  Arapahoes,  who  gave  up  the  cultivation  of 
corn  so  long  ago,  should  have  clung  to  their  ears  of  sacred 
corn  so  persistently. 

3.    Spring,  summer,  and  fall  ceremonies 

Of  the  Pawnee  rites  connected  with  the  planting  and 
cultivation  of  corn  we  have  no  detailed  account ;  but  Mr. 
Dorsey 12  states  that  the  tribe  had  many  interesting  cere- 
monies of  this  character,  both  for  corn  and  for  pump- 
kins. The  year  began  in  spring  when  Tirawa  first  spoke 
in  thunder;  then  came  the  ceremonies  connected  with 
the  consecration  of  seed,  the  preparing  and  planting  of 
the  ground.  These  spring  rites  had  been  taught  to  the 
first  Pawnee  head-priest  by  the  four  servants  of  the 
Evening  Star:  Wind,  Cloud,  Lightning,  and  Thunder, 
who  also  taught  him  prayers  to  the  Evening  Star  for 
abundant  crops  and  good  hunts.  He  is  said  to  have 
direct  charge  of  the  distribution  of  seed  to  the  women 
in  the  spring.  Besides  these  seed  and  planting  rites,  the 
Pawnees  also  had  cultivation,  or  hoeing,  rites,  and  har- 
vest ceremonies,  but  no  detailed  account  of  any  of  these 
things  is  available.13  At  the  summer  solstice  a  human 
sacrifice  was  made  to  the  Morning  Star  —  a  maiden  cap- 
tured from  some  hostile  tribe  usually  being  the  victim. 
This  sacrifice  is  said  to  have  been  an  agricultural  rite, 
intended  perhaps  to  insure  abundant  crops.  The  Skidi 
Pawnee  kept  up  these  human  sacrifices  until  well  on  into 
the  nineteenth  century. 

12  Traditions  of  tfo  Skidi  Pawnee,  p.  xvii. 

1 3  Consult  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  STcidi,  p.  21;  Bulletin  30, 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  ii,  p.  215  and  p.  590. 


258  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

These  Pawnee  spring  and  summer  rites  were  not  in 
charge  of  a  single  man  or  group  of  men.  Each  village- 
group  had  its  own  sacred  bundle  to  which  certain  rites 
appertained,  and  these  rites  were  performed  at  the 
bundle-shrine  by  priests  who  had  charge  of  the  bundle 
and  its  rites.  "Each  shrine  was  in  charge  of  an  heredi- 
tary keeper,  but  its  rituals  and  ceremonies  were  in  the 
keeping  of  a  priesthood  open  to  all  proper  aspirants. ' ' 14 

Like  the  Pawnees,  the  Arikaras  had  many  rites  which 
were  performed  at  planting-time,  during  the  growing 
season,  and  at  harvest.  These  ceremonies  centered 
around  the  sacred  ears  of  corn,  the  Bird  Case,  and  the 
Seven  Gourds. 

Another  Arikara  ceremony  was  that  of  placing  Mother 
Corn  in  the  Missouri  River,  that  she  might  return  to  the 
gods  with  the  prayers  of  the  people  for  abundant  crops 
and  long  life.  It  is  not  stated  at  what  season  of  the  year 
this  ceremony  was  performed,  and  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  a  regular  annual  rite,  but  seems  to  have  been 
performed  only  on  rare  occasions.  When  Mother  Corn 
was  thrown  into  the  river,  old  moccasins  belonging  to  the 
Arikara  children  were  collected  and  placed  in  the  bundle 
with  the  ear  of  corn  which  symbolized  Mother  Corn.15 

i*  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  v.  ii,  p.  215. 
In  this  sacrifice  the  maiden  represented  the  Evening  Star  —  the 
First  Mother  —  who  was  the  wife  of  the  Morning  Star,  and  the 
object  of  the  rite  was  evidently  the  refertilizing  of  Mother  Earth. 
Similar  rites  with  the  same  object  in  view  were  performed  at  the 
shrines  of  agricultural  gods  and  goddesses  in  ancient  times,  in 
Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa.  Consult  The  Golden  Bough,  v.  v; 
worship  of  Adonis,  Osiris,  Cybele,  and  the  Syrian  goddess  Astarte. 

!5  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Arikara,  p.  35. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  259 

The  Arikara  priests  are  said  to  have  had  charge  of  the 
seed  selection  and  seed  consecration  rites. 

The  Cenis,  a  Caddoan  tribe  in  Texas,  had  in  the 
seventeenth  century  a  shrine,  in  the  form  of  a  stool, 
which  was  used  in  their  agricultural  and  other  cere- 
monies. "When  the  corn  is  ripe,  they  gather  a  certain 
quantity  in  a  maund  or  basket,  which  is  placed  on  a  sort 
of  seat  or  stool,  dedicated  to  that  use,  which  they  have  a 
great  veneration  for.  The  basket,  with  the  corn,  being 
placed  on  that  honored  stool,  one  of  the  elders  holds  out 
his  hands  over  it,  and  talks  a  long  time ;  after  which  the 
said  old  man  distributes  the  corn  among  the  women,  and 
no  person  is  allowed  to  eat  of  the  new  corn  until  eight 
days  after  that  ceremony.  The  same  ceremonies  are  used 
by  them  in  the  cultivation  of  their  grain  and  produce, 
but  particularly  of  their  tobacco,  whereof  they  have  a 
sort  which  has  smaller  leaves  than  ours. ' ' 16  The  arms 
and  clothing  of  the  young  men,  when  they  first  went  to 
war,  were  also  placed  on  this  stool  and  prayed  over  by 
an  old  man. 

Among  the  Omahas  in  ancient  times,  the  spring  opened 
with  the  distribution  of  seed  and  the  singing  of  the  songs 
of  the  corn.  Of  this  the  sacred  legend  says:  "The 
stanzas  are  many.  They  begin  with  the  gathering  of  the 
kernels.  The  people  talk  of  where  they  shall  plant. 
Then  the  men  select  the  land  and  wherever  each  man 
selects  he  thrusts  a  pole  in  the  ground  to  show  that  now 
the  corn  shall  be  planted. ' ' 17  These  stanzas  and  the 

is  Joutel  's  Journal,  1687,  in  French,  Louisiana  Historical  Col- 
lections, v.  i,  p.  151. 

«  Fletcher  and  Le  Flesche,  p.  261. 


260  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

rites  that  accompanied  them  have  been  forgotten,  but  it 
is  stated  that  in  the  spring  the  Honga  subgens  that  kept 
the  sacred  red  ears,  gave  these  ears  to  the  Inkesabe  sub- 
gens  that  performed  the  rites  and  gave  four  seeds  of  the 
sacred  corn  to  each  of  the  women.  Red  was  among  most, 
if  not  all,  of  the  Siouan  tribes,  the  color  symbolizing 
abounding  life,  and  the  women  placed  the  four  red  ker- 
nels with  their  seed  corn,  to  fertilize  the  seed. 

Long  after  the  rites  of  seed  distribution  had  been  dis- 
continued, the  custom  of  singing  the  corn  song  was  kept 
up.  It  was  sung  before  the  rites  of  the  White  Buffalo 
Hide  were  performed.  The  known  stanzas  of  this  corn 
song  are  given  by  Fletcher  and  Le  Flesche,  on  pp.  262- 
267: 

1  2 

0  hasten!  0  hasten! 

Behold,  Behold, 

With  four  roots  I  stand.      With  one  leaf  I  stand. 

Behold  me !  Behold  me ! 

3  4 

0  hasten!  0  hasten.! 

Behold,  Behold, 

With  two  leaves  I  stand.  With  three  leaves  I  stand. 

Behold  me !  Behold  me ! 

And  so  on,  to  seven  leaves;  then  ''With  one  joint  I  stand. 
Behold  me!''  And  so  on,  to  seven  joints.18  Then  the 

is  The  "seven  leaves,"  "seven  joints,"  etc.,  in  this  song  evi- 
dently symbolize  the  seven  divisions  of  the  old  Omaha-Ponka 
tribe.  An  examination  of  Omaha  corn  shows  that  the  plants  have 
more  than  seven  leaves  and  seven  joints. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  261 

song  continues:  "With  clothing  I  stand.  .  .  With 
light,  glossy  hair  I  stand.  .  .  With  yellow  hair  I 
stand.  .  .  With  dark  hair  I  stand.  .  .  With  light, 
glossy  tassel  I  stand.  .  .  With  pale  tassel  I  stand. 
.  .  .  With  yellow  tassel  I  stand.  .  .  With  fruit 
possessed  I  stand: 

24  25 

0  hasten!  0  hasten! 

Grasp  ye  Roast  by  a  fire 

My  fruit  as  I  stand.  My  fruit  as  I  stand. 

Pluck  me!  Even  roast  me! 

26 
O  hasten! 

Rip  from  its  cob 
My  fruit  as  I  stand, 

And  eat  me! 

As  has  been  stated  above,  the  Omahas  also  had  rites 
for  the  insuring  of  abundant  crops,  rain-making  rites, 
and  rites  to  protect  the  corn  from  wind,  hail,  insects,  and 
birds;  but  all  knowledge  of  these  rites  has  been  lost. 

Hunter,  apparently  speaking  of  the  Osages,  states  that 
they  had  a  green  corn  festival,  and  that  the  elderly  wo- 
men had  complete  control  of  all  rites  connected  with  the 
cultivation  of  corn.  The  oldest  of  these  women  inspected 
the  fields  daily,  announced  the  time  for  the  beginning  of 
the  green  corn  season,  and  controlled  the  green  corn 
ceremonies. 

The  corn  rites  of  the  Mandans  are  said  to  have  been 
instituted  by  Good  Fur  Robe  and  his  companions,  who 
led  the  people  out  from  under  the  ground.  He  also  or- 


262  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ganized  the  Goose  Women  Society,  and  first  performed 
the  ceremony  of  distribution  of  seed  and  the  seed  cleans- 
ing rites. 

The  spring  ceremonies  of  the  Mandans  begin  after  the 
ice  has  gone  out  of  the  river  and  when  the  geese  and 
ducks  have  returned.19  The  sacred  ( ?)  seed  has  been 
prepared  before  this,  by  the  Corn  Priest,  in  a  special 
(secret?)  rite.  He  decides  on  a  day,  and  then  on  that 
day,  early  in  the  morning,  at  about  the  time  when  the 
women  are  returning  from  the  work  of  clearing  and  pre- 
paring the  fields,  he  ascends  to  the  top  of  his  lodge,  be- 
gins to  shout  and  sing,  announcing  that  the  time  has 
come  for  the  distribution  of  the  sacred  seed.  Then  the 
women  all  come  to  the  sacred  lodge,  each  one  bearing  a 
present  for  the  priest.  The  priest  performs  the  cere- 
mony of  distribution,  placing  a  few  kernels  of  the  sacred 
corn  in  the  mouth  of  each  woman.  The  women  then  re- 
turn home  and  mingle  the  sacred  kernels  with  the  seed 
corn  they  have  prepared  for  planting.  The  cleansing 
ceremony  may  be  requested  any  year  by  any  woman, 
who  deems  it  necessary,  but  the  request  must  be  accom- 
panied by  a  specially  valuable  present  to  the  priest.  Al- 
though it  might  be  held  in  any  year,  this  ceremony  sel- 
dom occured  oftener  than  once  in  three  or  four  years, 
and  on  these  occasions  it  seems  to  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  regular  distribution  of  sacred  seed. 

After  the  request  has  been  made,  accompanied  by  a 
sufficient  present,  the  priest  agrees  to  perform  the  cere- 
mony and  has  an  announcer  declare  the  day  and  hour 

is  We  here  employ  the  present  tense,  but  the  government  has 
put  a  stop  to  all  of  these  old  Mandan  rites  and  ceremonies. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  263 

from  the  top  of  the  sacred  lodge.  On  the  appointed  day 
the  women  repair  to  the  sacred  lodge  immediately  after 
the  morning  meal.  They  take  with  them  all  of  their 
seed  for  the  spring  planting,  in  pots  and  wooden  bowls. 
Inside  the  lodge  they  find  the  priest,  his  body  naked, 
wearing  a  headdress  of  fox  skins;  he  is  adorned  with 
sprigs  of  young  sage,  fur  moccasins  are  on  his  feet ;  his 
body  is  painted  red  and  the  upper  part  of  his  face  blue. 
This  is  to  be  his  appearance  during  the  whole  of  the 
ensuing  growing  season.  Between  the  two  back  posts  of 
the  lodge  is  stretched  a  map  of  the  world,  drawn  on 
skins.  The  priest  is  seated  to  the  left  of  the  fireplace, 
smoking  the  sacred  pipe  of  black  stone.20  This  pipe  he  is 
to  use  during  the  whole  growing  season.  As  the  women 
arrive,  they  place  their  pots  and  bowls  of  seed  in  rows 
before  the  map;  and  after  this  has  been  done  the  rest 
of  the  people  crowd  in  and  fill  the  lodge.  The  rites  are 
performed  by  the  priest,  unassisted.  When  all  is  ready 
he  begins  to  sing  and  goes  through  several  songs.  He 
then  takes  brushes  of  mint  and  performs  the  actual 
cleansing  by  brushing  over  all  of  the  seed,  and  all  of  the 
people  as  well.  The  cleansing  is  now  concluded  and  the 
women  return  home  with  their  seed ;  but  the  priest's  work 
has  only  begun. 

20  The  sacred  pipe  of  the  Arapahoes  is  also  of  black  stone  and 
is  said  to  represent  the  Creator.  During  the  Sun  Dance,  Mother 
Earth  is  fertilized  by  smoking  in  this  pipe  tobacco  mingled  with 
black  paint,  symbolizing  the  earth,  and  red  paint,  symbolizing 
the  life-giving  or  fertilizing  power. 

The  map  of  the  world  referred  to  above  was  destroyed  in  the 
burning  of  the  lodge  of  Moves  Slowly,  the  last  Mandan  Corn 
Priest,  many  years  ago  and  was  never  replaced. 


264  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

During  the  whole  summer  following  the  cleansing  cere- 
mony, the  priest  must  remain  indoors  except  on  the  oc- 
casions when  it  is  his  duty  to  visit  the  fields.  He  must 
paint  himself  ceremonially  every  morning,  singing  soft- 
ly, and  he  must  wear  the  same  things  that  he  had  on 
during  the  cleansing  rite,  and  a  heavy  winter  rohe,  all 
summer.  It  is  not  permitted  him  to  bathe  even  in  the 
hottest  weather,  and  he  must  not  eat  berries  or  any  other 
fresh  food.  Should  he  do  so,  an  early  frost  will  damage 
the  corn.  If  a  member  of  his  family  dies  he  may  mourn 
only  four  days.  If  a  quarrel  occurs  in  his  household  it 
is  sure  to  bring  bad  fortune  upon  the  village.  Once  two 
women  quarrelled  in  the  priest's  family,  and  immediate- 
ly afterward  a  man  was  killed  by  the  Sioux. 

When  the  first  silk  appears  the  priest  visits  the  fields ; 
and  on  this  occasion,  if  there  is  a  drought,  he  walks 
through  the  corn,  wearing  his  heavy  winter  robe  and  his 
ceremonial  dress  and  paint;  he  carries  the  sacred  gourd 
rattle,  and  as  he  walks  he  sings  the  very  sacred  dew  song. 
During  the  growing  season  the  priest  visits  the  fields  four 
times,  the  fourth  visit  taking  place  when  the  corn  is  ripe. 
If  he  encounters  any  woman  in  the  fields  when  he  visits 
them,  she  must  give  him  a  present.  When  any  woman 
finds  corn  ripe  enough  to  supply  seed  for  the  following 
year,  she  brings  an  ear  to  the  priest.  After  eating  this 
corn  he  has  performed  all  of  his  tasks,  the  cleansing  sea- 
son is  ended  and  the  priest  is  free  to  resume  his  ordinary 
mode  of  life  again.  The  rites  performed  during  such  a 
cleansing  season  were  intended  to  make  the  corn  grow 
well,  to  protect  it  from  drought,  hail,  wind,  and  other 
enemies.  Scattered  Corn  states  that  the  corn  has  never 


MANDAN  BLUE  CORN 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  267 

done  as  well  since  the  agent  interdicted  the  cleansing 
ceremony.  It  suffers  much  more  from  drought,  storms, 
and  early  frosts  than  it  formerly  did. 

The  offering  to  the  corn  was  a  harvest-time  ceremony. 
Any  woman  who  feared  that  her  corn  crop  would  be 
poor  might  bring  a  robe  to  the  priest.  Upon  this  robe 
he  marked  out  a  corn  plant,  with  five  roots,  the  leaves, 
the  blossoms,  and  the  ear.  The  woman  outlined  the  plant 
in  clay  and  the  priest  then  traced  it  over.  A  large  cot- 
tonwood  pole  is  now  brought  into  the  sacred  lodge,  and 
the  priest  wraps  the  prepared  robe  about  the  pole  at  a 
height  he  deems  proper.  He  is  then  given  food;  after 
which  there  is  a  general  feast.  The  pole  is  now  borne 
to  the  fields  (the  priest  remaining  in  his  lodge),  and 
there  it  is  planted  in  the  ground,  and  the  corn  is  picked 
and  heaped  about  the  base  of  the  pole.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  corn  will  make  a  pile  high  enough  to  reach  the 
point  at  which  the  robe  has  been  wrapped  about  the 
pole,  no  matter  how  poor  the  crop  may  have  been  before 
this  rite  was  performed.  The  priest  received  as  recom- 
pense for  his  work  a  present  for  each  root  and  leaf  of  the 
corn  plant  drawn  on  the  robe.  The  robe  after  the  pil- 
ing of  the  corn  is  over  becomes  the  property  of  the  first 
person  who  touches  or  takes  hold  of  it. 

Among  the  Mandans  the  ceremonies  having  to  do  with 
the  corn  come  under  the  heads  of  ceremonies  proper  and 
dances.  The  dance  features  belong  to  the  band  of  Goose 
Women,  and  it  is  only  of  their  activities  that  we  have 
any  account  from  early  travelers.  Recent  investigation 
has  brought  to  light,  however,  a  number  of  important 
ceremonies  and  rites  which  were  directly  in  charge  of  an 


268  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

hereditary  Corn  Priest  who  held  his  office  for  life  and 
was  a  very  important  person  in  the  community.  The 
last  priest,  Moves  Slowly,  who  died  about  ten  years  ago, 
was  the  last  of  a  line  of  thirty-four  priests  whose  names 
are  kept  in  a  pictographic  record,  with  their  ages,  which 
average  between  sixty  and  seventy  years.  This  Corn 
Priest  was  always  the  keeper  of  one  of  the  sacred 
turtles.21 

The  Goose  "Women  had  a  regular  spring  dance  and  an- 
other in  the  fall.  At  these  ceremonies  the  Corn  Priest 
acted  as  drummer,  or  musician,  and  was  called  the  Corn 
Singer.  According  to  Scattered  Corn  (the  daughter  of 
the  last  Corn  Priest)  in  the  ceremonies  performed  by  the 
priest  the  Goose  Women  acted  as  his  helpers  and  were 
supposed  to  be  under  his  direction  during  the  whole  of 
the  growing  season.  It  seems  probable  that  the  Goose 
"Women  features  of  these  ceremonies  come  primarily 
from  the  Hidatsas,  along  with  the  regard  for  the  Old 
"Woman  "Who  Never  Dies,  and  that  it  has  been  made  to 
fit  in  with  the  earlier  Mandan  ceremonies  of  the  Corn 
Priest.22 

According  to  Scattered  Corn  the  Goose  "Women  might 
get  up  dances  at  any  time  during  the  summer,  but  the 
most  important  one  was  in  the  fall,  after  harvest.  Maxi- 

21  The  Arapahoes  also  keep  a  sacred  Turtle,  with  the  sacred 
ear  of  corn,  in  their  tribal  medicine-bundle.     The  Omahas  had  a 
group  of  Turtle  people,  who  appear  to  have  had  important  rites 
connected  with  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

22  This  material,  and  the  following  account  of  the  Corn  Priest 
and  his  duties,  with  certain  features  of  the  Goose  Women  cere- 
monies, was  collected  in  recent  years  among  the  Mandans  by  Mr. 
George  F.  Will.     Scattered  Corn  was  the  principal  informant. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  269 

milian  and  other  early  travelers  seem  to  lay  more  stress 
on  the  spring  dance,  which  they  describe  at  some  length. 
This  dance  was  held  when  the  wild  geese  —  the  mes- 
sengers of  the  Old  Woman  Who  Never  Dies  —  first  ap- 
peared in  the  spring.  The  ceremony  seems  to  have  been 
a  short  one,  as  Maximilian  states  that  it  was  all  over  by 
11  o'clock  in  the  morning,  "but  some  of  the  women  re- 
mained the  whole  day  reclining  near  the  offerings  hung 
up  in  the  prairie."  In  the  following  account  Maxi- 
milian seems  to  have  the  Goose  Women  dance  confused 
with  the  Corn  Priest's  spring  ceremonies,  part  of  which 
he  describes. 

Maximilian  (p.  334)  :  "It  is  a  consecration  of  the 
grain  to  be  sown  and  is  called  the  corn  dance  feast  of 
the  women.  The  Old  Woman  Who  Never  Dies  sends  in 
the  spring  the  waterfowl,  swans,  geese,  and  ducks  as 
symbols  of  the  kinds  of  grain  cultivated  by  the  Indians. 
The  wild  goose  signifies  maize,  the  swan,  the  gourd;  the 
duck,  the  beans.  It  is  the  Old  Woman  that  causes  the 
plants  to  grow  and  therefore  she  sends  these  birds  as  her 
signs  and  representatives.  It  is  very  seldom  that  eleven 
wild  geese  are  found  together  in  the  spring;  but  if  it 
happens  this  is  a  sign  that  the  crop  of  maize  will  be  re- 
markably fine.  The  Indians  keep  a  large  quantity  of 
dried  flesh  in  readiness  for  the  time  in  the  spring  when 
the  birds  arrive,  that  they  may  immediately  celebrate  the 
corn  feast  of  the  women. ' ' 

They  hang  the  meat,  together  with  other  articles  in- 
tended as  offerings  to  the  Old  Woman,  on  long  racks  set 
up  in  the  prairie  near  the  village.  ' '  The  elderly  females 
[Goose  Women],  as  representatives  of  the  Old  Woman, 


270  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

assemble  on  a  certain  day  about  the  stages  [on  which  the 
meat  is  hung  up]  carrying  [each  of  them]  a  stick  in  their 
hands  to  one  end  of  which  a  head  [ear]  of  maize  is  fas- 
tened. Sitting  down  on  a  circle  they  plant  their  sticks 
in  the  ground  before  them  and  then  dance  around  the 


' '  Some  old  men  beat  the  drum,  and  rattle  the  schisschi- 
kue.  The  maize  is  not  wetted  or  sprinkled  as  many  be- 
lieve, but  on  the  contrary  it  is  supposed  that  such  a  prac- 
tice would  be  injurious.  While  the  old  women  perform 
these  ceremonies,  the  younger  ones  come  and  put  some 
dry  pulverized  meat  into  their  mouths  for  which  each 
of  them  receives  in  turn  a  grain  of  the  consecrated  maize 
which  she  eats,  three  or  four  grains  are  put  into  her 
dish  which  are  afterwards  carefully  mixed  with  the  seed 
to  be  sown  in  order  to  make  it  thrive  and  yield  an  abun- 
dant crop.  The  dried  flesh  on  the  stages  is  the  per- 
quisite of  the  aged  females,  as  the  representatives  of  the 
Old  Woman.  During  the  ceremony  it  is  not  unusual 
for  some  men  of  the  Band  of  Dogs  to  come  and  pull  a 
large  piece  of  flesh  from  the  poles  and  carry  it  off.  The 
members  of  this  band  being  men  of  distinction,  no  op- 
position can  be  offered. ' ' 

Of  the  autumn  dance  of  the  Goose  Women,  Maximilian 
says  (p.  335)  :  "A  similar  corn  feast  is  repeated  in  the 
autumn  but  at  that  season  it  is  held  for  the  purpose  of 
attracting  the  herds  of  buffaloes  and  of  obtaining  a  large 
supply  of  meat.  Each  woman  then  has  not  a  stick  with 
a  head  of  maize  as  in  the  former  instance  but  a  whole 
plant  .  .  .  pulled  up  by  the  roots.  They  designate 
the  maize  as  well  as  the  birds  which  are  the  symbols  of 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  271 

the  fruits  of  the  earth  by  the  name  of  Old  Woman  Who 
Never  Dies,  and  call  upon  them  in  the  autumn,  saying, 
Mother  have  pity  on  us,  do  not  send  the  severe  cold  too 
soon  so  that  we  may  have  a  sufficient  supply  of  meat,  do 
not  permit  all  the  game  to  go  away  so  that  we  may  have 
something  for  the  winter. 

"In  autumn  when  the  birds  emigrate  to  the  south  or 
as  the  Indians  express  it,  return  to  the  Old  Woman,  they 
believe  that  they  take  with  them  presents,  especially  the 
dried  flesh  that  was  hung  up  at  the  entrance  of  the  vil- 
lage for  the  giver  and  protectress  of  the  crops.  They 
further  imagine  that  the  old  woman  partakes  of  the 
flesh.  Some  poor  females  among  these  Indians,  who  are 
not  able  to  offer  flesh  or  any  valuable  gifts,  take  a  piece 
of  parchment  [parfleche  —  rawhide]  in  which  they  wrap 
the  foot  of  the  buffalo  and  suspend  it  to  one  of  the  poles 
as  their  offering.  The  birds  on  their  return  go  to  the 
Old  Woman  each  bringing  something  from  the  Indians, 
but  toward  the  end  one  approaches  and  says,  'I  have 
very  little  to  give  you  for  I  have  received  only  a  very 
mean  gift.'  To  this  the  Old  Woman  on  receiving  the 
buffalo's  foot  from  the  poor  women  or  widows,  says, 
'  That  is  just  what  I  love,  this  poor  offering  is  more  dear 
to  me  than  all  the  other  presents  however  costly.  .  . '  " 

Such  were  some  of  the  innocent  beliefs  and  practices 
which  the  United  States  Indian  Office  has  seen  fit  to 
wage  a  systematic  campaign  against,  until  the  Indian 
women  no  longer  dare  to  send  their  poor  little  gifts  south 
with  the  migrating  geese  and  ducks  to  the  protectress  of 
their  fields. 

Dr.  Lowie's  modern  account  of  the  Goose  Women's 


272  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ceremonies  is  much  fuller  and  more  accurate  than  Max- 
imilian's.  His  informants  stated  that  before  the  great 
ceremony  of  the  society  could  be  performed  it  was  neces- 
sary that  someone  should  have  had  a  dream  to  that  effect. 
Then  the  members  prepared  dried  meat.  Calf-woman 
says  that  in  the  winter  some  woman  would  always  get 
up,  saying,  ''In  the  spring,  when  the  snow  is  off  the 
ground,  we  are  going  to  have  a  ceremony,  we  shall  have 
to  hang  up  offerings  on  posts."  Then  the  preparations 
were  made.  When  the  geese  made  their  first  appear- 
ance in  the  spring,  meat  was  suspended  from  a  tripod 
meat-rack  set  up  on  the  borders  of  the  village.  When 
all  was  ready,  the  members  of  the  society  paraded 
through  the  village,  halting  four  times  on  the  way  to 
the  meat-rack.  Each  woman  carried  on  her  left  arm  an 
armful  of  sage,  enclosing  an  ear  of  corn.  Calf -woman 
(who  was  one  of  the  two  young  girls  of  the  society  who 
wore  duck-skin  head-dresses)  carried  a  pipe  as  well  as 
some  meat  and  fat  impaled  on  a  cottonwood  branch. 
This  pipe  and  the  stick  she  afterward  placed  before  one 
of  the  male  singers,  who  lit  the  pipe,  seized  the  dried 
meat,  and  returned  it  to  Calf-woman.  This  was  done 
four  times.  When  the  procession  had  arrived  at  the  meat- 
racks  the  Goose  Women  performed  one  dance.  Then 
there  came  from  the  village  two  representatives  from 
each  of  the  men's  societies,  in  full  regalia.  These  men 
were  the  bravest  in  their  organizations ;  they  approached 
the  meat  afoot  or  mounted  (according  to  the  nature  of 
their  martial  exploits)  and  appropriated  the  dried  meat, 
in  place  of  which  each  warrior  left  one  of  his  best  blan- 
kets or  a  horse  for  the  Goose  Woman  who  had  prepared 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  273 

the  food  —  i.  e.,  the  woman  who  took  the  initiative  in 
getting  up  the  ceremony.  After  the  performance  of  the 
first  dance,  this  woman  distributed  a  great  deal  of  meat 
to  the  spectators,  whose  place  was  on  the  west  side.  Af- 
ter each  of  the  four  dances  this  distribution  took  place, 
and  after  the  last  dance  those  who  had  been  newly 
adopted  into  the  Goose  Society  gave  presents  to  their 
adoptive  mothers;  then  each  new  member  took  up  her 
sage  and  corn  and  raced  to  the  meat-rack  and  back 
again.  It  was  believed  that  the  woman  who  won  the 
race  would  be  instructed  by  the  spirits  in  the  right  way 
of  living.  After  the  race  the  runners  cleansed  (brushed) 
themselves  with  the  sage.  The  singer,  to  whom  Calf- 
woman  had  presented  the  pipe  and  meat,  now  turned 
his  robe  hair-side  out,  tied  a  red-fox  skin  round  his  head, 
and  moved  with  the  pipe  toward  the  east,  touching  what 
meat  remained  on  the  racks  with  the  pipe.  This  meat 
was  then  appropriated  by  the  "mothers"  in  the  Goose 
Society.  All  now  returned  to  the  village ;  there  a  sweat 
lodge  was  made,  and  after  all  of  the  women  had  entered 
the  chief  singer  (Corn  Priest?)  also  went  in.  He 
chanted,  dipped  some  sage  in  water,  and  sprinkled  all 
of  the  women.  The  "mothers"  of  the  society  now  pre- 
pared food  and  gave  it  to  their  "daughters;"  a  general 
feast  then  followed. 

In  this  ceremony  the  two  middle  officers  (young  girls) 
wore  the  duck-bill  headband,  but  the  leader  and  the  rear 
officer  wore  no  distinctive  badge.  The  women  on  the 
left  side  of  the  lodge  painted  their  faces  black  between 
mouth  and  chin,  while  those  on  the  right  used  blue  paint. 
The  musicians  had  drums  but  no  rattles. 


274 


The  object  of  the  ceremony  was  to  make  the  corn 
grow.  The  geese  and  the  corn  were  supposed  to  be  one 
and  the  same  thing.  It  may  be  noted  in  this  connection 
that  one  of  the  Mandan  fieldsongs  speaks  of  the  Corn 
returning  to  its  home  "in  the  east"  every  autumn.  In 
the  other  references  to  the  old  woman  who  keeps  the 
corn  it  is  usually  implied  that  her  home  is  in  the  south. 

During  the  spring  or  fall,  according  to  Owl-woman, 
anyone,  man,  woman  or  child,  might  make  "an  offering 
to  the  geese."  In  this  ceremony  the  person  making  the 
offering  invited  the  Goose  Society  to  his  lodge  to  feast. 
The  society  marched  in  order  to  the  lodge,  the  singers 
going  ahead.  They  halted  and  danced  four  times  on  the 
way.  On  reaching  the  lodge  the  rear  officer  went  in  first. 
One  of  the  singers  sprinkled  sage  for  incense  near  the 
central  fireplace  and  then  all  of  the  members  approached 
and  scented  their  blankets.  They  then  took  their  places 
and  the  host  brought  in  the  calico  or  other  offering  for 
the  geese;  also  presents  for  the  musicians.  The  dance 
then  started.  There  were  four  dances  and  four  sets  of 
four  songs  each.  There  was  an  intermission  between 
the  dances  and  between  each  set  of  four  songs.  After 
the  dance,  one  of  the  singers  took  a  stick  and  impaled 
some  food  on  it ;  this  he  offered  to  the  four  quarters,  then 
threw  it  into  the  fireplace.  The  host  now  went  to  the 
singers  and  induced  them  to  utter  a  prayer  in  his  behalf, 
asking  for  long  life,  prosperity,  success  in  war,  etc.  He 
also  went  to  the  members  of  the  Goose  Society,  and  any 
of  them  having  personal  medicines  placed  a  little  in  his 
mouth,  at  the  same  time  praying  to  the  Corn  in  his  be- 
half. The  offerings  made  were  now  distributed  among 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  275 

the  members  of  the  society  and  a  general  feast  concluded 
the  ceremony. 

The  two  or  three  hand-drums  used  by  the  Goose  So- 
ciety are  said  to  have  been  painted  with  representations 
of  goose  tracks. 

The  autumn  ceremony  of  the  Goose  Women  was  more 
important  than  the  spring  dance,  according  to  Scattered 
Corn.  Meat-racks  were  set  up  and  the  women  danced 
four  dances,  just  as  in  the  spring  corn  dance;  but  the 
fall  dance  was  primarily  a  buffalo  ceremony,  intended  to 
insure  a  good  fall  hunt.  Scattered  Corn  states  that  one 
side  or  half  of  the  Goose  Society  painted  part  of  the 
face  black,  while  the  rest  of  the  members,  those  of  the 
other  side,  painted  part  of  the  face  blue  and  white. 

At  the  ceremonial  feasts  of  the  Goose  Women,  Calf 
Woman,  who  was  one  of  the  two  young  members  who 
wore  duck-skin  headbands,  always  served  food  to  the 
Corn.  She  took  a  piece  of  meat  and  offered  it  to  the 
Corn,  saying:  "You,  Corn,  eat  this.  I  pray  to  you, 
in  order  that  the  members  of  my  society  may  live  long. ' ' 

The  Hidatsas  had  very  few  ceremonial  observances 
connected  with  agriculture,  beyond  the  dances  of  the 
Goose  Women  and  the  features  adopted  from  the  Man- 
dans.  Matthews  says  that  this  tribe  had  no  important 
ceremonies  connected  with  corn,  while  Maximilian  states 
that  the  com  dance  or  feast  of  these  people  was  adopted 
from  the  Mandans. 

M!aximilian  describes  one  rather  important  agricul- 
tural rite  which  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Hidatsas. 
Speaking  of  the  beliefs  concerning  the  Old  Woman  Who 
Never  Dies,  he  says  (p.  373)  :  "She  gave  the  Manitaries 


276  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

a  couple  of  pots  which,  they  still  preserve  as  sacred 
treasures,  and  employ  as  medicine  or  charms  on  certain 
occasions.  She  directed  the  ancestors  of  these  Indians 
to  preserve  the  pots  and  to  remember  the  great  waters 
.  .  .  from  which  all  animals  came  cheerfully.  .  . 
The  red  shouldered  oriole  came  at  that  time  out  of  the 
water  as  well  as  all  the  other  birds  which  still  sing  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers.  The  Manitaries  therefore  look 
on  all  these  birds  as  medicine  for  their  plantations  of 
maize  and  attend  to  their  song.  At  the  times  when 
these  birds  came  north  in  spring  they  were  directed  by 
the  Old  Woman  to  fill  these  pots  with  water,  to  be  merry 
to  dance  and  to  bathe  in  order  to  put  them  in  mind  of 
the  great  flood.  When  their  fields  are  threatened  with 
drought  they  are  to  celebrate  a  medicine  feast  with  the 
old  grandmother's  pots,  in  order  to  beg  for  rain,  this  is 
properly  the  destination  of  the  pots.  The  medicine  men 
are  still  paid  on  such  occasions  to  sing  for  four  days 
together  in  the  huts  while  the  pots  remain  filled  with 
water." 

4.     Various  ceremonies,  beliefs,  and  practices 

Under  this  heading  we  will  give  some  account  of  the 
ceremonies,  beliefs,  and  practices  in  which  the  corn  was 
brought  in  but  which  were  not  directly  connected  with 
the  practice  of  agriculture. 

Of  the  ceremonies  belonging  to  this  class  by  far  the 
most  important  was  that  one  known  to  the  whites  as  the 
Calumet  Dance  but  called  by  the  Pawnees  the  Hako  23 

23  Hako  is  the  name  given  to  the  ceremony  by  Miss  Alice 
Fletcher.  She  states,  however,  that  the  Pawnee  called  it  Skari> 
or  Many  Hands. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  277 

and  by  the  Omahas  the  Wawan.  This  great  ceremony 
was  perhaps  of  Caddoan  origin.  Joutel  saw  it  performed 
in  a  Caddoan  village  in  Arkansas,  1687,  and  at  an  even 
earlier  date  it  had  spread  as  far  as  the  Sioux  and  the 
tribes  near  the  western  end  of  Lake  Superior. 

The  calumet  ceremony  was  primarily  a  rite  of  adop- 
tion, and  the  name  for  the  ceremony  among  some  of  the 
western  Siouan  tribes  had  the  meaning  "to  make  a 
sacred  kinship."  A  group  of  persons  known  as  the 
Fathers  gave  the  ceremony  for  the  benefit  of  a  group  of 
persons  known  as  the  Children.  -  In  the  long  series  of 
rites  and  prayers  the  Fathers  adopted  the  Children  and 
gave  them  long  life,  prosperity,  and  happiness.  Kins- 
men might  not  perform  the  rites  for  the  benefit  of  their 
blood  kinsmen,  the  people  of  their  own  gens  or  clan ;  but 
the  men  of  one  gens  or  clan  might  give  the  ceremony  for 
the  men  of  another  gens  or  clan  in  the  tribe.  More  often 
the  ceremony  was  given  by  one  tribe  to  another  tribe. 

In  the  Pawnee  calumet  ceremony,  or  Hako,  the  sacred 
ear  of  white  corn  played  an  important  part.  It  was 
called  Mother,  and  seems  to  have  symbolized  the  earth 
mother  and  her  fruitfulness. 

Two  hollow  stems,  one  male  and  the  other  female, 
were  used  in  the  Hako  ceremony,  and  one  of  the  most 
interesting  rites  was  performed  with  the  female  stem. 
The  pipe  bowl  belonging  to  a  Pawnee  Rain  Shrine  was 
attached  to  this  female  stem  by  the  Rain  Priest,  who  then 
performed  a  rite  known  to  him  alone  —  the  offering  of 
smoke  which  symbolized  the  fertilizing  of  Mother  Earth 
by  Tirawa.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  rite  all  of  the  per- 
sons who  were  being  adopted  as  "children"  through  the 


278  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Hako  ceremony,  smoked  the  pipe,  and  by  this  act  they 
obtained  long  life,  happiness,  and  the  power  to  beget 
children.  This  act  of  fertilizing  Mother  Earth  by  means 
of  the  female  stem  and  the  Rain  Shrine  bowl,  taken  in 
connection  with  many  peculiar  smoke-offering  cere- 
monies practiced  by  the  Indians,  especially  with  the  ob- 
ject of  procuring  abundant  food  and  abundant  life, 
raises  the  interesting  question  as  to  whether  smoking 
was  not  originally  a  rite  symbolizing  the  act  of  fertiliza- 
tion: the  breathing  of  life  into  all  things.  It  is  well 
known  that  in  early  times  the  Indians  never  smoked 
merely  for  pleasure.  The  act  of  taking  smoke  was  a 
rite;  women  did  not  smoke,  and  we  have  several  state- 
ments to  the  effect  that  the  men  grew  the  tobacco  them- 
selves in  isolated  "tobacco-gardens"  although  the  women 
grew  all  of  the  other  crops,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  sacred  corn,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  lowas  at 
least,  the  priests  seem  to  have  taken  care  of. 

A  curious  rite  practiced  by  the  Osages,  is  described  by 
Matthew  Clarkson,  an  English  trader  in  the  Illinois 
country,  in  his  diary,  December,  1766.24  He  says: 
"Mons.  Jeredot,  the  elder,  who  has  been  a  trader  for 
many  years  among  most  of  the  Indian  nations  about  the 
River  Mississippi,  informs  me,  December  22d,  1766,  that 
the  Osages  live  on  a  river  of  the  same  name,  which  falls 
into  the  Missouri.  .  .  He  says  that  they  have  a  feast 
which  they  generally  celebrate  about  the  month  of 
March,  when  they  bake  a  large  (corn)  cake  of  about 
three  or  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  of  two  or  three  inches 
in  thickness.  This  is  cut  into  pieces  from  the  center  to 

2*  Illinois  Historical  Society  Collections,  xi,  p.  359. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  279 

the  circumference,  and  the  principal  chief  or  warrior 
arises  and  advances  to  the  cake,  where  he  declares  his 
valor  and  recounts  his  noble  actions.  If  he  is  not  con- 
tradicted, or  no  one  has  aught  to  allege  against  him,  he 
takes  a  piece  of  the  cake  and  distributes  it  among  the 
nation,  repeating  to  them  his  noble  exploits  and  exhort- 
ing them  to  imitate  them.  Another  then  approaches,  and 
in  the  same  manner  recounts  his  achievements,  and  pro- 
ceeds as  before.  Should  anyone  attempt  to  take  of  the 
cake  to  whose  character  there  is  the  least  exception,  he  is 
stigmatized  and  set  aside  as  a  poltroon." 

This  rite  reminds  one  of  the  well-known  "striking  the 
post"  ceremony  formerly  practiced  by  so  many  tribes 
living  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

Mr.  John  Paul  Jones  quoted  the  passage  from  Clark- 
son's  journal  (as  given  above)  in  a  Kansas  City  journal 
years  ago,25  and,  commenting  on  Clarkson's  statement, 
he  says:  "Among  some  tribes  on  the  Missouri  River 
there  was  a  feast  celebrated  at  which  the  maidens  par- 
ticipated, and  which  resembled  the  feast  of  the  Osages, 
except  that  in  the  former  case  it  was  the  character  of 
the  maidens  for  chastity  that  underwent  the  ordeal  of  a 
challenge."  This  seems  to  imply  that  in  the  maiden's 
feast  a  large  corn  cake  was  used,  as  in  the  Osage  warrior 
rite.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  several 
years  ago  an  old  pioneer  living  near  the  mouth  of  Kansas 
River  wrote  to  one  of  the  present  authors  and  offered  to 
sell  him  some  seed  of  an  old-time  variety  of  very  early 

25  < '  Early  Notices  of  the  Missouri  Eiver  and  Indians, ' '  by 
John  Paul  Jones;  Kansas  City  Review  of  Science  and  Industry, 
v.  v,  no.  5,  pp.  286-291,  1881-1882. 


280  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

yellow  corn,  called  " Maiden  Corn."  A  reply  was  sent, 
but  the  old  man  failed  to  send  the  seed  or  to  answer 
further  inquiries.  "We  might  conjecture  that  this  yellow 
maiden  corn  was  the  variety  set  aside  for  use  in  the 
ceremony  Mr.  Jones  refers  to.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  the  source  of  Mr.  Jones's  information  concern- 
ing the  maidens'  feast,  and  which  of  the  Missouri  River 
tribes  practiced  this  rite.  A  careful  search  of  available 
material  has  failed  to  disclose  any  further  information 
of  these  points. 

Maximilian  mentions  in  several  places  the  dancing  of 
the  Hidatsa  women,  accompanied  by  conjuring  tricks. 
These  he  terms  the  medicine  dances  of  the  women,  and  he 
describes  one  of  them  during  which  a  woman  pretended 
to  have  an  ear  of  corn  in  her  body  "which  she  cast  out 
by  dancing."  This  may  have  been  a  practice  of  Ari- 
kara  origin.  The  Arikara  were  great  conjurers  and  the 
feat  described  by  Maximilian  recalls  the  Arikara  tra- 
dition of  how  Mother  Corn  was  struck  by  Whirlwind  and 
cast  out  four  ears  of  corn  that  were  in  her  body. 

Although  not  exactly  a  ceremonial  feature,  the  field- 
songs  of  the  women  of  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes  are 
very  interesting.  Many  of  these  songs  are  remembered 
and  are  sung  today  by  the  older  Mandan  and  Hidatsa 
women,  and  similar  songs  appear  to  have  been  in  use  at 
one  time  among  the  Omahas,  Pawnees,  and  Arikaras. 
According  to  Scattered  Corn,  some  field-songs  were  the 
personal  property  of  certain  women,  who  doubtless  com- 
posed them,  while  other  songs  were  in  general  use  among 
the  women  and  were  handed  down  from  mother  to 
daughter. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  281 

Scattered  Corn  sang  a  number  of  the  Mandan  field- 
songs  to  one  of  the  present  authors,  and  explained  their 
meaning. 

The  first  song,  a  rather  pleasing  tune,  as  Indian  music 
goes,  was  translated  thus: 

"My  friends,  look  at  the  corn;  I  love  the  corn.  But 
in  the  fall  when  she  goes  back  east,  I  am  sad." 

Another  of  these  songs  is  a  sort  of  lament.  The  wo- 
man who  is  supposed  to  be  speaking  had  been  married  to 
a  very  kind  husband  who  had  loved  her  and  taken  care 
of  her.  He  was  killed  while  away  with  a  war  party  and 
the  woman  is  now  married  to  a  man  who  treats  her  very 
badly.  She  laments  her  first  husband. 

A  third  song  is  the  lament  of  a  young  girl  for  her 
lover  who  has  gone  to  war  and  has  fallen  after  especially 
distinguishing  himself. 

Another  Mandan  song  represents  a  young  girl  as 
lamenting:  "This  young  man  talked  to  me  out  among 
the  sunflowers  and  I  did  not  answer  him.  Now  he  has 
gone  to  war  and  is  killed. ' ' 

There  were  a  great  many  of  these  songs,  and  a  large 
number  of  them  are  still  in  use  among  the  Mandan  wo- 
men. A  phonographic  collection  of  them  would  be  very 
interesting  and  valuable. 

Buffalo  Bird  "Woman  mentions  the  similar  songs  of  the 
Hidatsa  women.  She  says  that  the  young  girls  who  sat 
on  the  elevated  platforms  in  the  corn  patches  at  green- 
corn  time  and  watched  for  birds,  small  boys,  and  other 
plunderers,  passed  much  of  their  time  in  singing  and 
doing  porcupine  quill  work.  Two  girls  usually  watched 
together,  but  sometimes  others  came  from  nearby  patches 


282  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

to  visit,  and  three  or  four  would  perch  on  one  platform, 
gossiping  and  singing  ''love-boy"  songs.  Most  of  the 
songs  sung  by  the  watchers  were  of  this  character  — 
"love-boy"  or  love  songs,  but  others  were  of  a  humorous 
cast.  Small  boys  hung  about  the  corn  patches  at  this 
season  (in  the  Cherry  month,  or  August)  to  steal  roast- 
ing ears,  and  one  of  the  songs  was  addressed  to  these 
pests: 

"You  bad  boys,  you  are  all  alike! 
Your  bow  is  like  a  bent  basket-hoop ; 
Your  arrows  are  fit  for  nothing  but  to  shoot  into 

the  sky; 

You  poor  boys,  you  have  to  run  on  the  prairie  bare- 
foot!" 

Another  of  Buffalo  Bird  Woman's  songs  was  one 
which  a  girl  sang  to  her  ee-ku-pa,  or  chum: 

"  'My  ee-ku-pa,  what  do  you  wish  to  see?'  you  said 

to  me. 
What  I  wish  to  see  is  the  corn  silk  peeping  out  of 

the  growing  ear; 

But  what  you  wish  to  see  is  that  naughty  young 
man  coming!" 

This  piece  of  impudence  was  sung  when  any  young 
men  of  the  Dog  Society  happened  to  pass  the  corn 
patches : 

"Young  man  of  the  Dog  Society,  you  said  to  me, 
'When  I  go  east  on  a  war  party,  you  will  hear  news 
of  me,  how  brave  I  am!' 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  283 

I  have  heard  news  of  you! 

"When  the  fight  was  on,  you  ran  and  hid ; 

And  you  still  think  you  are  a  brave  young  man ! 

Behold,  you  have  joined  the  Dog  Society; 

But  I  call  you  just  plain  dog ! " 26 


26  Buffalo   Bird   Woman 's   Story,   part   iii ;    published   in    The 
Farmer,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  Dee.  16,  1916,  pp.  1732-1740. 


VIII— VARIETIES 

With  regard  to  the  direct  point  of  origin  of  the  corn 
raised  by  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  we  have  no 
definite  information  and  hardly  any  clues.  It  is  gen- 
erally supposed  that  corn  came  into  North  America  by 
two  routes:  part  straight  up  from  Mexico  into  Texas, 
the  Southwest,  and  up  the  Mississippi ;  and  part  around 
by  way  of  the  Caribbean  Islands  to  Florida  whence  it 
was  diffused  through  the  Southeast  and  East.  So  far 
as  our  material  shows,  however,  there  are  no  distinguish- 
ing points  between  the  corn  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and 
that  further  east. 

We  find  flint  corn,  8-rowed  flour  corn,  12  or  more 
rowed  flour  corn,  and  dent  corn  raised  as  the  staple  meal 
corns  by  different  tribes.  The  distribution  of  these  sorts 
seems  to  have  been  governed  by  the  physical  character- 
istics of  the  corn  itself.  Flint  corn  is  the  earliest  and 
hardiest  type  of  the  four,  and  will  produce  a  crop  with 
the  minimum  of  cultivation.  Hence  it  was  the  favorite 
of  the  least  agricultural  tribes  such  as  the  Chippewas. 
It  does  better  under  colder  atmospheric  conditions  also 
than  do  the  other  sorts,  and  we  find  that  it  was  the  main 
type  grown  by  the  New  England  Indians.  In  fact  the 
northerly  and  not  exceptionally  agricultural  Algonquian 
stock  seems  to  have  been  the  final  champion  and  devotee 
of  the  flint  type.  The  flints  have  lost  out  with  the  Mis- 


CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS  285 

souri  Valley  tribes,  there  being  only  one  or  two  sorts 
raised  where  five  or  six  flour  corns  are  found. 

Next  in  point  of  earliness  and  hardiness  come  the  8- 
rowed  flour  corns.  The  flour  corns  were  much  preferred 
by  the  Indians  who  depended  considerably  on  agricul- 
ture for  food  supply,  for  the  reason  that  they  were  much 
more  easily  ground  and  were  better  as  green  corn  than 
the  flints.  The  flour  corns  do  better  where  the  heat  is 
more  intense  than  in  the  woodland  area  of  Minnesota, 
Wisconsin,  and  Michigan,  and  we  find  them  extended 
down  the  Missouri  and  thence  east,  south  of  the  lakes, 
and  up  into  New  York  where  the  more  agricultural  Iro- 
quois  had  many  more  varieties  of  flour  than  of  flint  corn. 

The  larger  eared,  many-rowed  flour  corn  is  still  more 
of  a  warm  climate  plant,  and  we  find  it  on  the  Lower 
Missouri  and  across  to  the  east.  It  merges  east  of  the 
Mississippi  into  the  dents  of  the  still  more  southern 
tribes  with  which  it  is  very  closely  allied.  It  is  signifi- 
cant that  the  later  and  heavier  eared  flour  corns  of  the 
Iroquois  came  from  the  south,  according  to  tradition. 

The  dent  corn  was  raised  over  the  southern  area  of  the 
United  States  very  generally,  and  in  Mexico  as  well,  clear 
to  or  beyond  the  international  boundary,  for  perfect  dent 
ears  have  been  found  in  cliff  dwellings  in  our  Southwest. 

It  seems  therefore  that  similar  types  of  corn  were 
raised  over  all  the  parts  of  the  continent  where  agricul- 
ture was  practised,  where  similar  climatic,  physical,  and 
cultural  conditions  prevailed. 

The  one  exception  to  this  statement  is  found  in  the 
Pueblo  region  of  the  Southwest  where  a  very  distinctive 
type  of  flour  corn  has  been  developed.  This  type,  small 


286  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

kerneled  and  large  cobbed,  is  different  in  appearance 
from  any  of  the  other  flour  corns,  and  has  certain  im- 
portant physical  differences,  adaptations  to  desert  con- 
ditions, which  have  been  investigated  and  described  by 
Mr.  G.  N.  Collins  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture. It  is  almost  certain,  however,  that  this  type  is  a 
purely  local  development  by  breeding,  a  result  of  the 
many  centuries  spent  by  the  Pueblo  people  under  unus- 
ual local  conditions. 

There  is  no  flint  corn  raised  in  the  Southwest  in  mod- 
ern times,  but  the  newly  discovered  pre-cliff  dweller1 
remains  show  many  flints,  among  them  a  white  flint  of 
8  rows  very  similar  in  appearance  to  the  white  flints 
raised  in  the  North,  from  the  Upper  Missouri  region  to 
New  England.  In  the  early  cave  or  cliff  dwellings  are 
also  found  many  ears  of  the  8-rowed,  larger  kerneled 
flour  corns,  whence  probably  came  the  slender,  8-rowed 
varieties  of  the  less  agricultural  Navajos. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  pages  that  there  is 
but  little  in  the  types  of  corn  generally  grown  by  the  In- 
dians to  show  whence  they  came.  "With  the  exception  of 
the  local  Pueblo  types  of  the  Southwest  we  find  the  main 
types  generally  distributed.  Tradition  and  probability 

1 1  have  been  called  into  consultation  recently  by  two  members 
of  the  Peabody  Museum  staff,  who  made  some  rather  startling  dis- 
coveries in  the  Southwest  last  year.  Samples  of  the  corn  found 
by  them  have  been  sent  to  me  for  examination.  It  would  appear 
from  these  samples  that  the  corn  of  the  ancient  people  of  the 
Southwest  differed  very  little  from  the  types  usually  grown  by 
tribes  in  other  parts  of  the  country  and  familiar  to  us  today;  but 
that  during  several  centuries  the  corn  of  the  Southwest  has  devel- 
oped types  that  are  now  peculiar  to  that  region.  —  George  F.  Will. 


By  permission  of  the  Montana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

1.  "WlNNEBAGO  MIXED  FLINT 

2.  MIXED  FLINT,  LOWER  BRULE 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  289 

point  to  a  southwestern  origin  for  the  Pawnee  corn,  but 
there  is  apparently  nothing  in  the  types  to  either  prove 
or  disprove  the  theory. 

With  the  exception  of  the  two  unusual  color  types  2 
of  the  Pueblo  area,  with  the  two  similar  ones  reported 
by  the  Pawnees,  there  seem  to  be  a  certain  number  of 
possible  colors  and  color  combinations  which  are  spread 
pretty  generally  over  the  continent. 

We  have  very  few  records  of  corn  remains  being  found 
in  old  village  sites  along  the  Missouri.  Dr.  Dinsmore 
found  a  few  charred  cobs  in  eastern  Kansas ;  these  were 
as  slender  as  modern  Pawnee  cobs  and  showed  8  rows  of 
kernels.  A  cob  found  by  Mr.  Robert  F.  Gilder  in  an 
ancient  village  site  in  eastern  Nebraska  showed  12  rows 
of  kernels.  Will  and  Spinden  found  a  considerable 
quantity  of  cobs  and  some  kernels  in  a  Mandan  site  near 
Bismarck,  N.  D.  The  cobs  were  charred ;  few  were  over 
6  inches  long,  whije  many  were  much  shorter.  There 
appeared  to  be  two  types  of  cob,  one  type  slender,  of 
good  length,  but  seldom  over  6  inches  long,  showing 
straight  regular  rows  of  kernels,  8  to  10  rows  on  each  ear, 
while  the  other  type  of  cob,  short  and  somewhat  thicker 
than  the  first,  showed  invariably  12  rows  of  kernels,  set 
very  irregularly,  as  is  the  case  with  the  short  ears  or 
nubbins  of  most  varieties  of  corn.  The  few  kernels 
found  were  in  very  imperfect  condition,  but  they  ap- 

2  The  peculiar  color  types  here  referred  to  are  the  ' '  eyed ' ' 
corns,  grown  in  the  Southwest  at  the  present  time  and  said,  by 
tradition,  to  have  been  formerly  grown  by  the  Pawnees.  One  is 
a  white  corn  with  a  dark  purple  spot  or  "eye"  on  the  center  of 
each  kernel;  the  other  is  described  as  a  blue  corn  with  white 
"eyes." 


290  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

peared  to  be  also  of  two  types,  a  small  sort,  rather  long, 
resembling  popcorn,  and  a  large,  almost  round  sort.3 

The  fact  that  most  of  the  cobs  found  in  village  sites 
along  the  Missouri  show  straight  regular  rows  of  kernels 
may  be  considered  as  evidence  that  the  Indians  selected 
their  seed  ears  carefully  and  kept  their  strains  quite 
pure  in  early  days,  and  from  other  evidence  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  the  case.  From 
practically  all  of  the  Upper  Missouri  tribes  we  have  tra- 
ditional evidence  that  the  seed  ears  were  selected  with 
the  greatest  care.  Scattered  Corn  states  that  each  Man- 
dan  woman  selected  her  seed  while  the  corn  was  being 
husked  and  placed  the  seed  ears  in  a  special  sack. 
The  ears  selected  for  seed  were  among  the  ripest  and 
hardest  —  long  ears  with  straight  rows,  well  filled  out 
to  the  tip.  These  Mandan  rules  for  the  choosing  of 
good  seed  ears  differ  very  little  from  the  scientific 
requirements  as  given  at  the  present  day  by  corn  spe- 
cialists. The  Mandan  seed  ears  were  carefully  braided 
and  dried  by  themselves,  and  were  then  stored  with 
extra  care  in  a  special  seed-cache.  The  Hidatsas, 
Omahas,  Pawnees,  and  Arikaras  also  selected  the  seed 
ears  with  great  care.  Careful  women  kept  two  years' 
supply  of  seed  always  on  hand. 

The  Indians  possessed  a  knowledge  of  the  fact 
that  different  varieties  of  corn  will  cross  and  mix, 
and  they  carefully  selected  their  seed  to  insure  purity 
of  type.  In  no  case  did  a  single  family  plant  more  than 
two  or  three  varieties;  in  most  cases  each  variety  was 

s  Will  and  Spinden:  The  Mandans:  Papers  of  the  Pedbody 
Museum,  v.  iii,  no.  4,  pp.  179-180. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  291 

grown  by  a  different  member  of  the  family  and  in  a 
separate  garden.  The  older  women  say  that  sixty  to 
one  hundred  yards  apart  was  sufficient  in  the  sheltered 
bottom  lands  to  prevent  any  but  a  very  slight  mixing, 
and  thus  two  varieties  might  be  grown  at  opposite  ends 
of  the  same  garden. 

At  the  present  time  a  very  large  number  of  Indian 
varieties  are  badly  mixed,  almost  to  the  extent  of  being 
nothing  more  than  the  common  "squaw  corn/'  as  it  is 
called  contemptuously  by  white  people.  In  each  tribe, 
however,  a  few  of  the  more  careful  people  still  preserve 
pure  strains  of  the  old  varieties  and  they  can  yet  be 
obtained  by  diligent  search  and  careful  inquiry. 

Maximilian  listed  the  Mandan  corn  and  vegetables  as 
follows : 

"Of  maize  there  are  several  varieties  and  colors  to 
which  they  give  different  names.  The  several  varieties 
are: 

"White  Maize,  Yellow  Maize,  Red  Maize,  Spotted 
Maize,  Black  Maize,  Sweet  Maize,  very  hard  Yellow 
Maize,  White  or  Red  Striped  Maize,  very  tender  Yellow 
Maize. 

' '  The  gourds  are  yellow,  black,  striped,  blue,  long,  and 
thick  shelled. 

"The  beans  are  likewise  of  various  sorts,  small  white 
beans,  black,  red  and  spotted  beans. 

' '  The  sunflower  is  a  large  helianthus  which  seems  per- 
fectly to  resemble  that  cultivated  in  our  gardens  [in 
Germany].  It  is  planted  in  rows  between  the  maize. 
There  are  two  or  three  varieties  with  red  or  black  and 
one  with  smaller  seeds.  Very  nice  cakes  are  made  of 
these  seeds. 


292  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

"The  tobacco  cultivated  by  the  Mandans,  Manitaries, 
and  Arikaras  attains  no  great  height,  and  is  suffered  to 
grow  up  from  the  seed  without  having,  any  care  bestowed 
on  it"  (p.  274). 

Scattered  Corn  also  gives  a  list  corresponding  with 
that  of  Maximilian  as  far  as  his  goes,  but  also  mentioning 
several  additional  sorts.  According  to  her  the  varieties 
of  corn  grown  by  the  Mandans  are  these : 

Soft  Yellow  Corn;  Hard  Yellow,  or  Yellow  Flint; 
White  Flint;  Soft  White;  Red  Soft  Corn;  Clay  Red 
Soft  Corn;  Spotted  Corn;  Blue  Soft  Corn;  Black  Soft 
Corn;  Pink  Soft  Corn;  Yellow-and-Pink  Striped  Hard 
Corn,  called  Society  Corn;  Wrinkled  or  Sugar  Corn; 
and  "Keika"  Corn,  of  which  no  definite  description 
could  be  obtained. 

This  gives  us  thirteen  varieties.  Reviewing  the  list 
we  find  only  two  flints  specifically  mentioned,  the  white 
and  the  yellow.  We  find  also  two  sorts  of  red  corn. 
The  clay  red  has  been  tested  and  proves  to  be  a  very 
distinct  and  pure  type.  Mr.  Will  has  recently  found 
the  black  corn  among  the  Mandans.  It  is  a  dark  variant 
of  the  common  Mandan  red.  By  selection  from  mixed 
ears,  obtained  by  him  from  the  Indians,  a  blue  corn  has 
been  fairly  well  isolated  in  two  years.  Scattered  Corn 's 
blue  variety  therefore  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  a 
pure  strain  not  very  long  ago. 

Of  the  spotted  corn,  Scattered  Corn  says  there  were 
two  sorts,  one  in  which  each  kernel  was  spotted  with 
various  colors,  the  other  apparently  a  regular  squaw 
corn  with  kernels  of  different  colors. 

The  pink  corn  is  a  soft  white  with  pink  shading  and 
follows  type  sufficiently  to  rank  as  a  variety. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  293 

As  to  the  "Keika"  corn,  a  definite  description  of  this 
variety  could  not  be  obtained,  as  the  Indians  could  not 
describe  it  accurately  with  the  English  vocabulary  at 
their  command. 

The  yellow  and  pink  variety  is  a  yellow  corn,  striped 
or  blazed  with  red.  Scattered  Corn  says  that  it  belongs 
primarily  to  a  Ree  society,  certain  members  of  which 
still  raise  it. 

The  wrinkled  corn  is  the  sweet  corn ;  it  is  of  a  brown- 
ish red  color,  when  ripe  and  hard,  and  of  a  very  good 
flavor  when  green. 

Scattered  Corn  says  that  the  varieties  raised  by  her 
family  were  soft  white,  soft  yellow,  and  red  sweet  corn. 

Boiler  visited  the  Mandans,  Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras 
some  thirty  years  after  Maximilian.  The  three  tribes 
had  been  living  together  for  a  whole  generation,  and 
they  had  evidently  exchanged  corn  until  it  was  impos- 
sible for  any  but  a  close  observer  to  distinguish  the  corn 
of  one  tribe  from  that  of  the  others.  Boiler  makes  no 
attempt  at  such  a  distinction  but  groups  the  varieties 
grown  by  all  three  tribes  together  and  describes  them  as 
Red,  Black,  Blue,  Yellow,  Purple,  White,  and  mixed 
ears  showing  all  of  these  colors. 

Dr.  Wilson  was  informed  by  an  old  Hidatsa  wo- 
man that  their  favorite  varieties  in  early  times  were  the 
white  and  yellow  flint,  soft  white,  soft  yellow,  and  sweet 
corn. 

Although  the  three  Fort  Berthold  tribes  are  now  wide- 
ly scattered  in  family  groups  over  the  reservation  and 
have  no  common  field,  even  a  short  drive  about  one  of 
the  settled  portions  would  convince  anyone  that  a  very 
considerable  quantity  of  old-time  corn  is  still  raised  by 


294  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

these  tribes,  indeed  a  great  many  bushels  of  the  old 
varieties  are  traded  every  year  at  the  nearest  towns  for 
various  supplies.  At  the  fair  held  on  the  reservation 
last  fall  (1915)  the  display  of  native  corn  beautifully 
braided  and  hung  on  a  long  rack  formed  a  very  interest- 
ing feature  and  was  the  contribution  of  a  comparatively 
very  small  number  of  corn  growers  although  nearly  all 
of  the  old  varieties  were  included. 

With  judicious  encouragement  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  a  renewed  interest  in  the  growing  of  their 
native  corn  is  being  aroused  among  these  Indians,  and 
surely  no  more  satisfactory  crop  could  be  raised  by  them. 
That  this  corn  does  not  deserve  extinction  there  is  no 
question,  for  its  sturdy  qualities  and  great  vitality  and 
resistance  to  extreme  conditions  should  prove  of  service 
in  our  northern  states  and  in  high  altitudes  where  no 
other  corn  can  grow.  It  is  significant  that  the  early 
flints  developed  from  these  very  varieties  by  the  first 
white  corn  breeders  along  the  Upper  Missouri  are  even 
today  the  highest  yielders  and  the  only  sure  ripening 
varieties,  year  in  and  year  out,  throughout  the  dry  por- 
tions of  Montana  and  western  North  Dakota.  They  pro- 
duce crops  of  corn  in  the  high  mountain  region,  with- 
standing cold  nights  and  even  light  frosts,  and  have 
ripened  in  Norway  and  northern  Russia  besides  proving 
of  great  value  in  the  dry  portions  of  South  Africa  and 
Argentina. 

Of  the  corn  of  the  Nebraska  Indians  we  have  no  early 
description  except  in  one  of  Dorsey's  Skidi  Pawnee  tra- 
ditions, in  which  it  is  stated  that  a  Pawnee  woman  who 
was  a  great  corn-grower  had  the  following  varieties: 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  295 

White,  Yellow,  Red,  Blue,  Blue  with  white  spots,  White 
with  black  spots,  Blue-speckled  and  Red-speckled  corn.4 

James  Murie  of  the  Pawnees,  writing  in  1914,  gave  the 
following  list  of  varieties  now  grown,  or  formerly  grown, 
by  his  tribe: 

"They  had  or  have  the  red,  black,  yellow  and  white 
corn.  Then  they  had  the  speckled  black  and  red  [that 
is,  blue-speckled  and  red-speckled  —  the  coloring  on  the 
blue-speckled  ears  looks  quite  black  when  the  corn  is 
hard  and  dry].  Then  they  had  a  yellow  corn,  between 
sweet  and  yellow  corn.5  Then  they  had  a  white  and 
sweet  corn.  They  had  two  kinds  of  sweet  corn,  one 
early  and  the  other  late.  They  also  had  different  kinds 
of  beans,  squashes  and  pumpkins.  Also  watermelons, 
and  these  melons  were  very  small.  .  .  The  first  four 
colors  of  corn  I  spoke  of  are  ceremonial  corn,  especially 
the  white,  for  it  is  the  Mother  Corn.  A  tassel  stands 
upon  top  as  if  it  were  an  eagle  down  feather." 

The  Pawnee  corn  of  today  appears  to  be  as  pure  as 
the  Mandan  corn ;  most  of  the  varieties  show  only  a 
slight  mixture,  and  none  of  them  seem  to  be  as  badly 
mixed  as  most  of  the  Omaha  sorts  are. 

Of  the  corn  of  the  Omahas,  Ponkas,  lowas,  Otoes,  and 
Kansa,  we  have  no  early  descriptions.  Sturtevant  found 
a  variety  of  blue  corn  known  as  "Omaha"  in  use  as  far 
east  as  Sibley,  111.,  thirty-five  years  ago.  This  appears 
to  have  been  the  common  Omaha  blue  flour  corn  which 
these  Indians  still  grow.  The  Omahas  informed  Dr.  Gil- 

*  Dorsey,  Traditions  of  the  Slcidi  Pawnee,  p.  295. 

5  Perhaps  this  is  the  same  as  the  "very  tender  yellow  maize" 
of  Maximilian's  Mandan  list.  He  mentions  three  kinds  of  Man- 
dan  yellow  corn:  the  flour,  the  flint,  and  the  "very  tender." 


296  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

more  that  they  formerly  had  dent  corn,  flint  corn,  flour 
corn,  sweet  corn,  and  popcorn.  ' '  Of  most  of  these  types 
they  have  lost  the  seed  since  the  coming  of  the  white 
men.  The  varieties  were  kept  in  purity  in  the  old  time, 
as  they  inform  me,  by  planting  in  patches  at  some  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  and  you  can  see  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  varieties  pure  for  ceremonial  reasons, 
because  for  instance,  if  red  corn  (which  was  tabu)  be- 
came generally  mixed  among  the  their  corn  it  would 
make  it  impossible  for  one  certain  gens  to  touch  any  of 
the  corn. ' ' 6 

As  might  be  supposed  from  their  close  relationship  and 
intimacy  in  early  times,  the  Ponkas  and  Omahas  have  the 
same  varieties  of  corn  today.  Each  tribe,  however,  pre- 
serves some  varieties  which  the  other  appears  to  have 
lost. 

As  far  as  could  be  learned  the  Otoes  have  only  two 
varieties  of  corn  at  the  present  time,  and  the  lowas 
three. 

No  information  at  all  could  be  procured  concerning  the 
corn  of  the  Kansa,  Missouris,  and  Osages. 

In  the  descriptive  list  of  Indian  varieties  of  corn  that 
is  to  follow,  we  have  referred  only  to  the  number  of 
suckers  observed  on  the  plants.  In  reality  the  differ- 
ence in  the  size  and  type  of  the  suckers  is  more  impor- 
tant than  their  number.  The  production  of  suckers  by 
the  plants  of  any  given  variety  is  a  very  variable  matter, 
depending  upon  soil  conditions,  dry  or  wet  seasons,  and 
close  or  thin  planting.  It  is  very  seldom  that  a  series 

e  Letter  to  Geo.  E.  Hyde,  February  18,  1914. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  297 

of  plants  of  the  same  variety  will  produce  the  same  num- 
ber of  suckers,  even  under  the  same  conditions. 

The  corn  of  the  Fort  Berthold  Indians  —  Mandans, 
Hidatsas,  and  Arikaras  —  displays  suckers  in  consider- 
able numbers  which  are  almost  as  large  as  the  main  stalk 
and  which  in  many  cases  bear  a  small  ear  or  nubbin. 
This  accounts  for  the  very  bushy  appearance  of  these 
northern  Missouri  River  varieties  as  compared  with 
those  from  the  region  farther  south,  and  also  for  the 
larger  number  of  ears  produced  by  each  hill. 

The  varieties  from  Nebraska  seem  to  have  in  most 
cases  as  many  suckers  as  the  northern  sorts,  but  they 
are  very  rudimentary,  and  in  no  cases  are  there  any 
signs  of  ears  or  even  false  ear  formations  on  any  of 
them.7 

The  corn  of  the  Red  Lake  Chippewas  very  closely  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Mandans  in  appearance  and  habit  of 
growth,  so  much  so  indeed  as  to  make  it  seem  probable 
that  this  corn  is  of  Mandan  origin.  We  know  that  the 
fur-traders  took  Mandan  corn  to  the  Red  River  posts 

7  These  observations  were  made  by  Mr.  Will,  at  Bismarck. 
Last  year,  1916,  I  planted  several  of  the  Nebraska  varieties  here 
at  Omaha,  and  my  notes  show  that  many  of  the  Pawnee,  Otoe, 
Omaha,  and  Ponka  varieties  produce  two,  three,  or  four  suckers, 
often  almost  as  thick  as  the  main  stalk.  I  found  small  ears  or 
nubbins  on  the  ends  of  the  side-shoots  of  several  varieties,  espe- 
cially on  plants  of  Omaha  gray  and  Omaha  brown,  while  false  ears 
were  very  numerous  on  plants  of  Ponka  sweet  corn.  A  large  per 
cent  of  the  nubbins  that  are  produced  on  the  ends  of  side-shoots 
on  Omaha  brown  plants  have  short  tassels  springing  from  the  tips. 
On  one  Omaha  gray  plant  I  picked  an  ear  six  inches  long  from 
the  end  of  a  side-shoot,  and  this  ear  had  a  tassel  four  inches  long 
attached  to  its  tip.  —  George  E.  Hyde. 


298  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

in  early  days,  and  Tanner  states  (p.  180)  that  an  Ot- 
tawa Indian  —  perhaps  one  of  the  many  eastern  Indians 
who  were  in  the  employ  of  the  British  fur  companies  — 
was  the  first  to  teach  corn  growing  to  the  western  bands 
of  Chippewas,  on  Red  River.8  The  Red  Lake  Indians 
were  the  only  western  band  of  Chippewas  who  grew  corn 
on  any  considerable  scale  as  late  as  1875.  One  of  the 
agents  for  the  Wisconsin  Chippewas  states  in  his  report, 
1869,  that  these  bands  grow  "Red  River  corn,"  a  very 
inferior  variety  of  low  growth,  which  does  not  often 
ripen.  This  was  the  only  variety  they  had,  and  they 
grew  but  little  of  it.  At  the  present  day  the  corn  grown 
by  the  Chippewas  and  Winnebagoes  of  Wisconsin  is  of  a 
different  type  from  that  of  the  Red  Lake  Chippewas  of 
Minnesota.  It  is  intermediate  between  the  Red  Lake 
and  Mandan  corn  and  the  corn  of  the  Nebraska  tribes, 
but  is  finer  leaved  than  any  of  these  varieties. 

The  Iroquois  corn  in  habits  and  in  the  number  of  ears 
per  hill  closely  resembles  the  Mandan  corn.  It  suckers 

s  The  earliest  mention  of  the  planting  of  corn  by  the  Chippewas 
of  Minnesota  seems  to  be  in  Schoolcraf t 's  Journal  of  Travel,  1820, 
v.  i,  p.  183,  where  it  is  stated  that  the  Chippewas  of  the  head  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  those  of  Bed  Lake,  plant  corn,  which  ripena 
early  in  August.  Pike,  1805-1806,  states  that  the  Leech  Lake  and 
Sandy  Lake  Chippewas  live  on  meat,  fish,  wild  rice,  and  roots;  he 
also  says  that  at  the  fur-post  at  Sandy  Lake  400  bushels  of  Irish 
potatoes  "and  no  other  vegetables"  were  raised  in  1805,  and  that 
at  the  Leech  Lake  fur-post  there  were  500  chests  of  wild  rice. 
He  does  not  mention  corn  at  all  in  connection  with  the  Indians  on 
the  head  of  the  Mississippi. 

Morgan,  in  Beach,  Indian  Miscellany,  v.  i,  p.  198,  states  that 
the  Hurons,  who  are  supposed  to  have  come  from  the  southwest, 
introduced  corn  into  the  Georgian  Bay  region,  north  of  Lake 
Huron,  and  that  the  Cheyennes  introduced  it  to  the  Red  Eiver 
region. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  299 

as  much ;  the  suckers  very  frequently  bear  small  ears  or 
nubbins,  and  the  suckers  are  comparatively  large,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  main  stalks. 

The  corn  from  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  suckers 
heavily,  but  the  suckers  are  not  often  productive  of  ears. 
The  bushy  appearance  of  this  Southwestern  corn  is  large- 
ly due  to  the  many  nodes,  placed  very  close  together,  and 
each  producing  leaves.  The  leaves  of  the  Pueblo  corn 
are  also  unusually  long;  they  droop  and  intermingle  in 
a  dense  mass,  adding  to  the  bushy  appearance  of  the 
plants. 

In  the  following  list  the  varieties  enclosed  in  paren- 
theses, (  )  and  not  numbered,  are  those  not  found  by  us, 
but  which  we  have  seen  mentioned  as  varieties  formerly 
grown. 

LIST  OF  VARIETIES  a 

Ar  Hear  as 

1.  Red-and-blue  Flint.     Flint  corn  from  Fort  Berthold,  similar 
to  Mandan  corn  in  size  and  habit.     Kernels  red  and  blue,  with 
blue  predominating,  and  some  few  white  kernels.     Ears  about  7 
in.  long,   8-rowed.     At  Bismarck,   1916,  grew  42  to  72  in.  high; 
ears  borne  4  to  13  in.  above  ground;  plants  have  2,  3,  4,  and  even 
6  suckers;  most  plants  have  1  ear  and  1  nubbin;  ripened  at  Bis- 
marck, 1916,  in  90  days. 

2.  Pink  Flint.     Similar  to  Mandan  Hard  White,  but  kernels 
mostly  shaded  with  pink.     Flint  corn. 

3.  Eee  Dark  Bed.     Flint  corn,  similar  to  Ree  Pink,  but  colors 
more  like  the  Mandan  Soft  Eed.     Some  question  as  to  whether 
this  and  the  Eee  Pink  are  real  varieties. 

4.  White    Flour.     (Perhaps   the    same   as    our   Mandan    Soft 
White.) 

5.  White   Flint.     Evidently  the   same   as  our   Mandan   Hard 
White. 


9  The   ripening   dates    for    Bismarck,    1915,    are    all   much   longer   than 
normal  as  the  corn  was  all  planted  when  the  season  was  much  advanced. 


300  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

6.  Blue  Indian  Corn.     Flour  corn,  mixed  blue  and  red.     Very 
bushy  growth;   height  of  stalk,  5  to  6  ft. ;  height  of  ears  from 
ground  10  to  18  in.    Eipened  1916,  136  days.     (This  variety  is 
from  Wyoming,  but  the  seed  is  said  to  have  come  from  the  Eees 
long  ago  when  they  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Grand  River.     The 
variety  is  considerably  later  in  ripening  than  modern  Eee  corn.) 

7.  Purple  Flour.     Dark  purple  with  a  few  red  seeds.     (Same 
as  No.  3f) 

8.  Yellow  Flour.    Evidently  the  same  as  Mandan  Yellow  Soft. 

9.  Light  Bed  Flour.     Has  a  yellow  cap  on  each  kernel. 

10.  Dark  Blue  Flour.     (Same  as  No.  6  of  this  list?) 

11.  Dark  Eed  Flour. 

Numbers  4  and  5,  and  7  to  11,  are  varieties  secured  by  Dr.  Gil- 
more  from  the  Fort  Berthold  reservation,  under  the  name  ' '  Arikara 
corn,"  several  years  ago.  Most  of  them  are  evidently  the  same  as 
the  corresponding  "Mandan"  sorts. 

The  list  of  Eee  varieties  given  above  must  be  considered  only 
provisional.  The  Eee,  Mandan,  and  Hidatsa  varieties  have  been 
shifted  about  to  such  an  extent  that  it  seems  impossible  at  the 
present  day  to  secure  a  reliable  list  of  Eee  sorts.  The  following 
notes  may  prove  of  interest: 

The  white  farmers  of  South  Dakota  still  grow  a  variety  of 
corn  known  as  "Eee  corn,"  and  generally  supposed  to  be  of  Eee 
origin.  It  is  a  mixed  flour  or  squaw  corn,  the  ears  somewhat 
larger  than  those  of  the  modern  "Mandan"  flour  corn,  grown 
by  the  Fort  Berthold  tribes  in  North  Dakota. 

The  Indian  agent  at  Fort  Peck,  Montana,  reported  in  1878  that 
some  of  the  employes  had  planted  "Eee  corn"  there,  that  it  had 
proved  very  satisfactory  and  that  an  Assiniboin  man  named  Long 
Fox  had  planted  some  of  the  corn  also. 

Mr.  Mooney  states  that  the  Pawnees  and  Eees  both  had  a 
variety  of  light  blue  corn  with  long  slender  ears,  evidently  blue 
flour  corn. 

The  corn  which  Mr.  Oscar  H.  Will  procured  in  North  Dakota 
in  the  early  80 's  and  which  he  used  in  his  breeding  experiments, 
was  a  mixed  flint,  commonly  known  as  Eee  or  squaw  corn,  but 
obtained  from  an  Hidatsa  woman. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  301 

Hidatsas 

The  Hidatsas  procured  their  first  corn  from  the  Mandans  and  in 
later  years  perhaps  adopted  some  of  the  Eee  sorts.  Their  favorite 
varieties  are  said  to  have  been  the  Soft  White,  Hard  White,  Soft 
Yellow,  and  Hard  Yellow.  They  also  grew  and  highly  prized  the 
true  sweet  corn  or  sugar  corn,  which  they  termed  ' '  gummy  corn. ' ' 

Mandans 

*  12.     Soft  Yellow.     Flour  corn.    Height  of  stalk  about  3%  ft., 
ears  borne  3  to  12  inches  above  ground.     Suckers  heavily,  bears 
leaves  on  ends  of  ears  and  has  many  false  ears.     In  1914  ripe 
and  hard  in  90  days,  at  Bismarck.     Ears  8-rowed,  in  a  good  sea- 
son 6  to  7  in.  long. 

*  13.     Soft  White.     Similar  to   No.   12   in   every  way  except 
color. 

*  14.     Soft  Eed.     Flour  corn,  as  near  to  a  pure  red  as  we  get, 
though   nearly  half   of  the  crop   is  white  or  pinkish   white.     In 
eome  individuals  the  stalk  and  leaves  show  the  red  color,  and  even 
the  cob  is  red  to  the  center,  pith  and  all.     A  trifle  earlier  and 
smaller  than  the  two  above. 

*  15.     Hard  Yellow.     Flint  corn,  8-rowed.     A  very  pure  strain 
and  said  by  the  Indians  to  be  their  earliest  variety.     Has  2  to  4 
suckers;  height  of  stalk  3  to  5  ft. ;  ears  borne  6  to  17  in.  above 
the  ground.     Eipened  at  Bismarck,  1916,  in  92  days.     Has  1  to  2 
ears  and  1  nubbin  per  plant. 

16.  Hard  White.  Flint  corn.  Perhaps  a  heavier  yielder  than 
the  Hard  Yellow  and  a  little  later.  Ears  often  shaded  with  pink. 

*  17.     Blue  Corn.     Kernels  rather  predominatingly  flinty;  ears 
rather  short.     Grows   34   to   50   in.   tall;    ears  borne  2   to   11   in. 
above  ground;  2  to  5  suckers  per  plant.     Each  plant  has  1  to  2 
ears  and  1  to  3  nubbins.     Eipe,  at  Bismarck,  1916,  in  96  days. 

*  18.     Spotted  Corn  or  "Buska"  (Mandan  name).     Flint  and 
flour  of  mixed  colors.    Grows  40  to  52  in.  tall;  ears  borne  3  to  10 
in.  above  ground;  has  1  to  5  suckers  (occasionally  none),  1  to  2 
ears  and  1  to  2  nubbins  per  plant.     Eipe  at  Bismarck,  1916,  in  93 
days. 

*  Indicates  Mandan  varieties  mentioned  by  Maximilian,  1833. 


302  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

(This  is  perhaps  the  variety  Sturtevant  refers  to  as  being 
grown  by  white  farmers  in  the  early  80 's.  It  was  called  "Man- 
dan  corn"  and  was  spotted,  with  white,  blue  and  yellow  seeds  on 
each  ear.  "Came  originally  from  Dakota."  The  Burleigh 
County  Mixed  corn,  a  popular  variety  among  Dakota  farmers  of 
the  present  day,  is  said  to  have  been  of  Mandan  origin.  It  is  a 
mixed  yellow,  white,  and  red  flint.  The  Fort  Peck  mixed  flint  is 
also  said  to  have  been  of  Mandan  origin.  It  is  very  much  mixed, 
both  flint  and  flour  kernels,  white,  yellow,  red,  blue  on  a  single 
ear.  It  has  yielded  25  to  40  bushels  per  acre  in  Montana,  where 
it  is  the  earliest  of  all  varieties  tested  by  the  Experiment  Station. 
The  Fort  Peck  corn  was  of  late  origin,  no  corn  being  grown  at 
Fort  Peek  as  late  as  1878.) 

19.  Clay    Bed.     Flour    corn,    color    dull    purplish-red    (about 
like  the  common  purple-red  lilac),  with  bluish  tinge  on  some  ker- 
nels.    White  cob,  8-rowed;   ears  about  61/-j   in.  long.     (Scattered 
Corn  gives  it  in  her  list  as  one  of  the  old  Mandan  varieties.) 

20.  Sweet  Corn.     Color  red-brown  when  hard  and  dry.     Ears 
4  to  6%  in.  long;  10-rowed;  white  cob  with  a  red  ring  about  the 
edge  of  the  pith.    Very  bushy  and  leafy;  a  heavy  yielder,  often  10 
or  12  ears  to  a  hill.    Gives  roasting  ears  in  50  to  60  days  but  dries 
more  slowly  than  the  other  sorts.     Never,  or  rarely,  eaten  green 
by  the  Indians.     Called  Wrinkled  Corn  by  Mandans  and  Gummy 
Corn  by  Hidatsas.     Grows  36  to  50  in.  tall;  ears  borne  2  to  13  in. 
above  ground;  plants  have  2  to  4  suckers,  1  to  2  ears  and  1  to  2 
nubbins.     At  Bismarck,  1916  (a  poor  year  for  corn),  some  plants 
of  this  variety  had  2  large  ears  and  2  nubbins.     Eipe  and  hard, 
1916,  in  105  days. 

(Pink  Corn.  Included  in  Scattered  Corn's  list  but  not  found 
by  us.  A  variant  of  the  Soft  Eedf) 

(Black  Corn.  Included  in  both  Scattered  Corn's  and  Maxi- 
milian's lists  of  Mandan  varieties.  Mr.  George  F.  Will  has  re- 
cently found  this  corn.  It  is  a  very  dark  variant  of  the  Mandan 
Bed.) 

(Society  Corn.  Given  by  Scattered  Corn,  who  states  it  was  of 
Eee  origin.  Described  as  having  yellow  kernels  streaked  with 
red.  A  very  large  handsome  ear  of  yellow  corn  striped  with  red 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  303 

was  in  the  Nebraska  Historical  Society 's  collection  three  years  ago, 
but  it  was,  I  think,  a  Navajo  or  Pueblo  ear.  Dr.  Gilmore  had  a 
few  kernels  of  a  Ree  variety  of  red  and  yellow  corn,  but  he  de- 
scribed it  as  light  red  with  a  yellow  cap  on  each  kernel.  Mr. 
Biggar  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  has  found  this  variety 
among  the  Fort  Totten  and  Cheyenne  Agency  Sioux.) 

(Keika  Corn.  One  of  Scattered  Corn's  thirteen  varieties  of 
Mandan  corn.  The  interpreter  could  not  explain  the  meaning  of 
the  name  or  describe  the  corn  clearly,  as  she  did  not  speak  English 
very  well.) 

(White  or  Red  Striped  Corn.  Mentioned  by  Maximilian.  This 
variety  has  been  found  among  the  Pawnees  recently,  by  Dr.  Gil- 
more,  but  the  Mandans,  Arikaras,  and  Hidatsas  appear  to  have  lost 
it.  A  few  seeds  of  this  red  striped  corn  were  found  in  a  mixed 
lot  of  Refugee  Sioux  corn  from  Manitoba.) 

lowas 

21.  Dark  Blue  Flour.      (Sent  by  Joseph   Springer,  an   Iowa 
man.)     Very  similar  in  appearance  to  the  Pawnee  and  Oto  dark 
blue  flour  corn:  8-rowed;  length  of  ear  8  in.     Almost  pure,  with 
a  few  white  and  blue-speckled  kernels  on  the  ear.     Stated  by  Mr. 
Springer    to    be   the    favorite    common-purpose    corn    among    the 
lowas. 

22.  Red  Flour.     This  is  a  flour  corn,  sacred  in  the  Aruhkwa  or 
Buffalo  gens  of  the  lowas.     Mr.  Springer,  who  is  an  Aruhkwa 
man,  states  that  he  may  not  eat  this  corn,  as  it  is  tabu.     The  ear 
sent  has  very  much  the  appearance  of  the  Ponka  and  Pawnee  red 
flour  corns.     The  kernels  are  of  several  shades  of  red,  from  very 
dark  to  a  light  salmon-red;  8-rowed;  ear  about  8  in.  long,  with 
reddish  cob. 

23.  Brown  Flour.     A  dark  brown  flour  corn,  evidently  a  pure 
strain.     Resembles  the  Omaha  Brown  very  closely.     Kernels  dark 
beaver  brown,  a  few  very  dark  red;  cob  reddish;  ear  about  8  in. 
long;  8-rowed.     Said  by  Joseph  Springer  to  be  a  sacred  variety, 
and  tabu  in  a  certain  Iowa  gens,  which  he  fails  to  name  in  his 

letter. 

Omanas 

Although  we  have  grown  Omaha  varieties  both  in  Nebraska  and 


304  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

in  North  Dakota  for  three  or  four  years,  the  crop  has  been  injured 
each  time  either  by  drought  or  by  a  cold  wet  growing  season,  and 
we  have  not  been  able  to  grow  any  very  good  ears.  The  large 
ears  of  Omaha  corn,  described  below,  were  seen  in  the  collection 
of  the  Nebraska  Historical  Society's  Museum  (collected  by  Dr. 
Gilmore.  Indeed,  Dr.  Gilmore  was  the  first  to  collect  seed  and  data 
on  all  of  the  Omaha  varieties). 

24.  Brown  Flour.     The  ear  in  the  museum  collection  was  11 
or  12  in.  long,  2  in.  in  diameter;  color  a  rich  glossy  dark  brown, 
with  some  bright  red  kernels.     Some  ears  grown  by  us  had  nearly 
half  of  the  kernels  of  this  red  color;  about  half  of  the  ears  were 
pure  brown.     Cob  reddish;  height  of  plant  6  to  8  ft.;  ears  borne 
18  to  36  in.  from  the  ground;  1  to  2  ears  per  plant;  each  plant 
has  1  to  4  suckers.     Eipened  in  1916,  at  Omaha  in  120  and  at 
Bismarck  in  126  days.     The  color  of  the  ears  is  at  first  a  light 
brown,  with  a  yellowish  tinge,  deepening  to  a  rich  dark  brown  as 
the  ears  mature.     This  variety  was  secured  by  Dr.  Gilmore  from 
Spafford  Woodhull,  who  appears  to  be  the  only  one  in  his  tribe 
who  has  this  corn. 

25.  White  Flour.    Appears  to  be  very  badly  mixed,  most  ears 
showing  a  large  number  of  colored  kernels,  mostly  blue.     Height 
of  stalk  6  to  8  ft. ;  height  of  ears  from  ground  1  to  2  ft. ;  ripened, 
at  Bismarck,  1915,  140  days. 

26.  Eed  Flour.     Dull  red  or  maroon.     Ears  mostly  8-rowed; 
stalk  5  to   7  ft.  high;   ears  borne  17  to  36  in.   above  ground; 
ripened,   1915,   at  Bismarck,   136   days.     Looks  like   red-speckled 
corn,  rather  than  solid  red. 

27.  Blue  Flour.     Original  ears  in  museum  collection  10  to  12 
in.  long,  2  in.  thick,  and  showing  much  mixture,  some  of  the  ears 
having  more  white  kernels  than  blue  ones.     Our  plantings  proved 
the  corn  to  be  badly  mixed,  but  few  ears  being  pure  blue.     This 
variety  is  quite  similar  to  the  Rosebud-Sioux  blue  corn,  both  in 
appearance  of  ears  and  in  habits  of  growth.     Height  of  stalk  5  to 
7  ft.;  has  1  to  2  ears  and  2  to  4  suckers;  ears  borne  1  to  2  ft. 
above  ground;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1915,  132  days. 

28.  Blue  and  White  Flour.     Mixed  variety  with  blue  and  white 
kernels.     (Considered  a  variety  by  the  Indians.)     Height  of  stalk 


305 


5  to  9  ft.;  ears  borne  18  to  40  in.  above  ground;  ripened,  1915, 
143  days.     Some  plants  have  no  suckers,  others  have  1  or  2. 

29.  Black  and  White  Mixed.      (Considered  a  variety  by  In- 
dians.)    Ear  8-rowed,  9%  in.  long.     About  half  the  kernels  are 
black  flour,  and  half  pearl-white  flint;   a  few  kernels  of  yellow 
flint,  yellow  flour,  black,  brown,  blue,  etc.     Appears  badly  mixed. 

30.  Speckled  Flour.     (Considered  a  variety  by  Indians.)    Very 
badly  mixed ;  some  white  kernels,  others  blue-speckled,  red-speckled, 
yellow,  reddish,  etc.     Ear  8-rowed,  9  in.  long.     At  Bismarck,  1916, 
grew  5^  to  7  ft.  high;  ears  borne  13  to  25  in.  above  ground;  1  to 
3  suckers,  1  to  2  ears  and  an  occasional  nubbin  on  each  plant. 
Eipened,  137  days. 

31.  Gray  Flour.      (So  called  by  Indians.)     Seems  to  be  the 
same  as  the  Ponka  Gray.     Ears  8-rowed,  8  to  9  in.  long;  white 
kernels  very  lightly  speckled  with  blue. 

32.  Black  Flour.     (Dark  blue  before  the  ears  are  dried.    Black 
after  drying.)     A  pure  strain,  most  ears  being  pure  black.     Ears 
8-rowed,  9  to  10  in.  long.     Stalks  about  7  ft.  high;  ears  borne  22 
to  33  in.  above  ground;  has  2  to  4  suckers  on  each  plant;  ripened 
at  Omaha,  1916,  120  days. 

(Popcorn.  The  Omahas  say  they  formerly  grew  popcorn  but 
have  lost  the  seed.) 

(Sweet  Corn.  The  Omahas  say  they  formerly  grew  sweet  corn, 
but  they  have  long  since  lost  the  seed.) 

33.  Blue-speckled  Flour.     Some  ears  of  this  variety  were  in 
the  Omaha  "Gray"  corn. 

(We  have  found  no  trace  of  the  Omaha  Sacred  Bed  corn,  un- 
less it  is  No.  26  of  this  list,  which  is  a  dull  reddish  or  maroon 
color,  and  looks  like  red-speckled  corn  with  the  speckling  laid  on 
so  thickly  as  to  produce  an  effect  of  solid  coloring  on  most 

kernels.) 

Otoes 

After  a  long  search  the  following  two  varieties  were  obtained 
from  this  tribe  in  Oklahoma: 

34.  White  Flour.     A  pure  strain  of  white  flour  corn.     Ears  8 
to  9  in.  long;  1%  to  2  in.  in  diameter;  the  four  ears  grown  and 
the  original  ear   obtained  from  the   Indians  were   all   10-rowed. 


306  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Planted  at  Bismarck,  1916,  this  corn  did  not  mature.  -Height  of 
stalk  75  to  108  in.;  ears  borne  33  to  57  in.  above  ground;  each 
plant  has  1  ear  and  occasionally  a  nubbin;  above  half  the  plants 
had  no  suckers,  the  rest  had  one  sucker. 

35.  Black  Flour.     A  good  strain,  evidently  pure.     About  half 
of  the  ears  are  very  long  and  slender  —  some  of  them  14  in.  long 
and   only   1*4    in.    in    diameter;    all   8-rowed.     At   Omaha,    1916, 
plants  grew  6  to  7  ft.  high;  ears  20  to  39  in.  above  ground;  most 
plants  show  1  to  2  suckers.     Eipened  119  days. 

Pawnees 

Most  of  our  seed  of  the  Pawnee  varieties  appears  to  be  of  quite 
pure  strains ;  none  of  them  shows  the  bad  mixing  that  characterizes 
several  of  the  Omaha  sorts  which  we  have  tested. 

36.  White  Flour.     ("Mother  Corn.")     A  good  pure  strain; 
ears  8  to  11  in.  long  and  rather  slender — all  8-rowed.     Stalk  96  to 
120  in.  tall;  ears  borne  37  to  52  in.  above  ground.     At  Bismarck, 
1916,  most  plants  of  this  variety  had  1  or  2  suckers  and  1  large 
ear  and  1  nubbin.     Did  not  ripen  at  Bismarck,  1916.     Mentioned 
in    Skidi  tradition   as   one   of  the   oldest   Pawnee   sorts.     James 
Murie   speaks  of  it  as  the  most  venerated   of   the  four  sacred 
varieties. 

37.  Yellow   Flour.     A   pure   strain   of   yellow   flour  corn;    8- 
rowed;  ears  resemble  those  of  the  White  Flour;  height  of  stalk 
96  to  120  in. ;  ears  borne  23  to  42  in.  above  ground ;  each  plant 
has  1  to  4  suckers  and  1  to  2  ears.     Eipened  at  Omaha,  1916, 
110  days. 

38.  Yellow  Flint.     A  true  yellow  flint;  color  a  deep  yellow  or 
orange,  seemingly  quite  pure.     Ears  7  to  S1/^  in.  long,  10-  and  12- 
rowed.     Stalks   7  to  10  ft.  high,  but  varying  considerably  with 
soil  conditions.     At  Bismarck,  1916,  grew  84  to  108  in.  tall;  ears 
borne  40  to  58  in.  above  ground;  each  plant  has  one  large  ear, 
occasionally    2 ;    nubbins   few   in    number ;    some   plants   have   no 
suckers,  others  only  1.     A  few  ears  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1916, 
in  about  90  days. 

39.  Ee3  Flint   ( ?) .     Flinty  corn,  mixed  colors  with  red  pre- 
dominating.    One  ear  is  TV%  in.  long,  8-rowed,  reddish  cob.    Stalks 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  307 

8  ft.  high,  ears  borne  3%  ft.  from  ground;  ripened  at  Bismarck, 

1915,  140  days. 

40.  Blue  Flour.     Blue-black,   and  a  good  pure  strain.     Ears 
8Y2  to  10 y<t  in.,  8-rowed.     Grows  6  to  8  ft.,  2  to  4  suckers  on  each 
plant;  ears  borne  31  to  39  in.  from  ground;  ripened  at  Omaha, 

1916,  110  days. 

41.  Sweet  Corn.     Yellow  sugar  corn;  10-  to  16-rowed;  4  to  7 
in.  long.     Grows  5  to  7  ft.  high,  very  leafy  and  bushy;  ears  borne 
2  to  3  ft.  above  ground;  1  to  2  suckers,  1  to  2  ears  and  1  nubbin 
on  most  plants. 

42.  White  and  Bed  striped.    Flour  corn.    Some  of  the  ears  are 
pure  white,  the  rest  are  striped  with  red.     About  half  of  the  ears 
are  8-rowed,  the  other  half  10-rowed,  7  to  12%  in.  long.     Stalks 
96  to  120  in.  tall;  ears  borne  20  to  51  in.  above  ground;   each 
plant  has  1  or  2  large  ears,  or  1  ear  and  1  nubbin;  some  plants 
have  no  suckers,  others  have  2,  3,  and  4.     Ripe  at  Omaha,  1916, 
110    days.     Seed    obtained    by    Dr.    Gilmore    from    Mrs.    Charles 
Knifechief. 

43.  Blue-speckled  Flour.    A  quite  pure  strain,  most  ears  show- 
ing no  mixture,  but  the  coloring  does  not  show  evenly,  some  ears 
being  very  lightly  speckled    (like  Ponka  Gray),  others  being  of 
almost  solid  blue-black  color.     Ears  7  to  9%  inches,  all  8-rowed 
and  slender,  like  most  of  the  Pawnee  corn.     Stalks  6  to  8  ft. 
tall;  ears  borne  1%  to  3  ft.  above  ground.     Did  not  ripen  at  Bis- 
marck, 1915.     Ripened  at  Omaha,  1914,  115  days. 

44.  Popcorn.     Obtained    by   Dr.    Gilmore    from   Mrs.    Charles 
Knifeehief.     Length  of  ear  about  4  in.;    12-rowed;   little  round- 
topped  seeds,  like  Queen's  Golden,  about  1-16  in.  across;   colors, 
pearl-white,   yellow,   red,   and  brownish.     A   very   handsome   little 
ear.     None  of  the  seed  planted  has  produced  a  crop.     At  Bis- 
marck, in  1916,  this  corn  grew  96  to  120  in.  tall;  ears  borne  38 
to  65  in.  above  ground;   about  half  of  the  plants  were  without 
suckers,  the  rest  had  1  sucker;  most  plants  had  only  1  ear  or  1 
nubbin.     Did  not  ripen. 

45.  Bed  Flour.     The  same  as  our  No.  39?     Dr.  Gilmore  had 
an  ear  of  this  corn  in  1913.     The  color  was  a  light  red,  similar  to 
our  No.  39;  ear  6  in.  long  and  quite  slender.     Mr.  G.  N.  Collins 


308  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  sent  us  a  packet  of  seed  of  this 
variety,  darker  red  than  Dr.  Gilmore's  ear.  He  called  it  "Pawnee 
red  flour  corn." 

(Lixokonkatit  or  "  Black-eyed-Corn. "  A  variety  mentioned 
in  the  Skidi  traditions  as  grown  by  the  Pawnees  in  early  times. 
Described  as  a  white  corn  with  black  spots  on  the  kernels.  Such 
a  variety  is  now  grown  by  the  Navajo,  who  call  it  Cudei  and 
consider  it  sacred.  The  dots  or  ' '  eyes ' '  on  the  white  kernels  are 
really  dark  purple. 

(Blue  with  white  spots.  Mentioned  in  the  same  tradition.  This 
corn  is  perhaps  the  same  as  the  variety  of  blue  corn  with  white 
"eyes"  that  is  still  grown  today  by  the  Hopi.) 

(Eed-speekled.  Mentioned  in  the  same  traditions,  and  also  in- 
cluded in  James  Murie's  list  of  varieties  formerly  grown  by  the 
Pawnees.  Not  found  by  us,  among  the  Pawnees,  although  Dr. 
Gilmore  found  it  among  the  Ponkas  and  Omahas.) 

(Black  corn.  Mentioned  in  Murie's  list.  Perhaps  the  same 
as  our  Blue  Flour  corn,  No.  40,  which  is  a  blue-black  corn,  looking 
quite  black  in  some  lights.) 

("Yellow  corn  between  sweet  and  yellow  corn."  Mentioned 
by  Murie.  Perhaps  the  same  as  Maximilian's  Mandan  variety: 
"very  tender  yellow  maize."  Not  found  by  us.) 

("White  and  sweet  corn."  Mentioned  by  Murie.  His  mean- 
ing is  not  clear.) 

(Murie  also  refers  to  two  kinds  of  real  sweet  corn,  but  does 
not  describe  them.  The  Pawnee  today  have  only  one  sweet  corn.) 

From  the  above  list  it  would  appear  that  the  Pawnees  have  to- 
day ten  varieties  of  corn  and  that  they  formerly  had  fifteen  or 
more  varieties. 

Ponkas 

(All  of  these  Ponka  varieties  were  collected  by  Dr.  Gilmore.) 

46.  Bed  Flour.     Bather  mixed,  but  mostly  red  corn.     At  Bis- 
marck, 1916,  grew  5%  to  10  ft.  high;  ears  borne  9  to  30  in.  above 
ground ;  part  of  plants  have  no  suckers,  others  1  or  2 ;  most  plants 
have  1  or  2  ears  and  1  nubbin.     Bipe  at  Bismarck,   1916,  130 
days;  in  1915,  134. 

47.  Sweet  Corn.     Cream  color,  or  very  light  yellow,  when  ripe 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  309 

and  dry.  Most  ears  are  14-rowed;  51/&  to  7  in.  long.  Grows  5 
to  7  ft.  high,  ears  borne  18  to  30  in.  above  ground,  and  each 
plant  has  1  to  4  suckers,  and  1  or  2  ears.  Ripened  at  Bismarck, 
1914,  130  days.  At  Omaha,  1916,  110  days. 

48.  Eed-speckled     Flour.     Eather     mixed,     but    mostly     red- 
speckled.     Height  of  stalk  5  to  7  ft;   ears  borne  1  to  2^   ft. 
above  ground;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1915,  138  days.     Plants  have 
1,  2,  or  3  suckers.     Ears  are  5%  to  7  in.  long,  mostly  10-rowed. 
We  have  only  examined  a  few  ears.     Most  of  the  ears  have  white 
cobs,  but  the  short  thick  ears   (nubbins)   have  red  cobs  in  most 
cases. 

49.  Gray  Flour.     This  is  a  flour  corn,  and  seemingly  the  best 
and  purest  strain  the  Ponkas  have.     It  is  a  blue-speckled  corn, 
with  the  kernels  so  lightly  speckled  as  to  make  most  ears  appear 
light  gray  or  almost  white  when  seen  from  a  little  distance.     All 
8-rowed,  ears  7  to  10  in.  long;  stalks  6  to  7  ft.  high;  ears  borne 
20  to  28  in.  above  the  ground;   each  plant  has  3  to  4  suckers. 
Eipened  at  Omaha,  1916,  in  100  days.     Of  8  ears  examined  7  were 
absolutely  pure  and  the  8th  ear  is  supposed  to  have  become  mixed 
with  the  Omaha  Black  which  was  growing  near  by. 

50.  Blue-speckled  Flour.    Procured  from  the  Ponkas  by  Dr. 
Gilmore.     Not  grown  by  us.     The  kernels  are  much  more  heavily 
speckled  than  in  the  case  of  the  Ponka  Gray. 

Sioux 

We  have  not  included  any  Sioux  corn  in  the  above  list  of  Up- 
per Missouri  varieties,  as  the  Sioux  did  not  live  on  the  Missouri 
until  after  1750  and  did  not  practice  agriculture  in  this  region  to 
any  large  extent  until  after  the  year  1850.  Most  of  the  varieties 
of  corn  grown  by  the  Sioux  at  the  present  time  appear  to  have  been 
procured  by  them  from  other  tribes.  The  Sioux  varieties  de- 
scribed below  have  been  collected  by  us  during  the  past  two  or 
three  years: 

51.  Brule  Sioux  Corn.    From  Lower  Brule  Agency,  S.  D.    This 
is  flint  of  mixed  colors,  mostly  yellow  and  white.     Long  ears,  8  to 
12  in.,  with  8  to  12  rows  of  kernels.     Height  of  stalks  8  ft.; 
height  of  ears  above  ground  1  to  3  ft.     Often  several  ears  per 
stalk;  suckers  a  good  deal;  ripened,  1914,  at  Bismarck,  120  days. 


310  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

52.  Speckled    Flour.      From    Standing    Rock    Agency,    S.    D. 
Flour  corn,  mostly  blue-speckled  and  red-speckled  mixed  on  the 
same  ear.     Evidently  obtained  from  some  southern  tribe    (prob- 
ably Ponkas  or  Omahas)  as  it  is  too  late  for  the  Standing  Rock 
region.     Grows  6  to   8  ft.;    ears  borne   1%    to   3   ft.   above  the 
ground.     Ripened  at  Bismarck,  1915,  in  a  specially  favorable  lo- 
cality, 138  days. 

53.  Minniconjou  corn.     Flour  corn  of  mixed  colors,  8-rowed. 
Mostly  blue-black  and  maroon-red,  with  a  very  few  white  kernels. 
Ear  QYz  in.  long. 

54.  Rosebud  Sioux  Brown.     Some  ears  of  this  color  appeared 
in   plantings   of    Rosebud    Blue   Flour    corn,    and    when    planted 
separately  the  brown  corn  came  true  to  type.     Seems  to  be  very 
similar  to  Omaha  Brown;   some  ears  are  10%  in.  long,  and  10- 
rowed.     At  Bismarck  plants  grew  78  to  96  in.  high;  ears  borne 
18  to  32  in.  above  ground ;  most  plants  have  2  to  3  suckers,  1  to  2 
ears  and  often  1  nubbin;  ripened,  1916,  at  Bismarck,  120  days. 
Has  reddish  cob. 

55.  Rosebud  Blue  Flour.    Dark  blue,  8-rowed  flour  corn,  seem- 
ingly much  purer  than  Omaha  Blue.     Very  similar  in  habit  to 
No.  54. 

56.  Minneconjou  Red  Flint.     Ears  resemble  those  of  Mandan 
and  Ponka  red  corn.     Eight  inches  long,  8-rowed,  red  cob.     The 
Minneconjous  have  a  tradition  that  they  obtained  seed  from  the 
Rees  about  60  years  ago  and  that  they  still  grow  this  Ree  corn. 

57.  Fort  Totten,  N.  D.,  Sioux  corn.     It  looks  like  mixed  Man- 
dan  corn. 

Santees:  These  Minnesota  Sioux  were  the  first  to  take  up  agri- 
culture on  any  large  scale.  They  began  to  grow  corn  some  time 
prior  to  the  year  1800,  on  the  Mississippi  below  the  mouth  of 
Minnesota  River,  and  in  1862  they  had  extensive  plantations  on 
the  upper  Minnesota,  around  Yellow  Medicine.  Following  the  up- 
rising of  1862  they  were  removed  to  the  Missouri,  in  Dakota,  but 
soon  after  fled  south  into  northern  Nebraska,  where  most  of  them 
still  reside.  Whether  any  of  the  varieties  of  corn  described  be- 
low were  originally  brought  from  the  Minnesota  region  is  not 
known  to  us. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  311 

58.  Santee  Yellow  Flour.     Yellow  flour  corn  with  a  few  dark 
kernels  on  most  ears.     The  only  ear  on  hand  is  10-rowed,  8  in. 
long.     Grows  6  to  9  ft.  tall;  ears  15  to  30  in.  above  the  ground; 
plants  have  1,  2,  or  3  suckers;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1916,  126  days. 

59.  Eed  Mixed.     Flour  and  flint  mixed,  color  also  mixed,  but 
red  kernels  predominating.     Besembles  the  Ponka  Eed  corn,  but 
with  white,  blue,  red-speckled,  and  blue  speckled  kernels  on  most 
ears.     Grows  66  to  76  in.  tall;  ears  11  to  27  in.  above  the  ground; 
ripened  at  Bismarck,  1915,  141  days.     Some  plants  have  no  suck- 
ers, others  1,  2,  or  3. 

60.  White  Flour.    The  ear  on  hand  is  mostly  white  with  some 
dark  kernels;   8-rowed;   7%  in.  long.     Grows  90  to  108  in.  tall; 
ears  borne  28  to  39  in.  above  the  ground;   plants  have  1  or  2 
suckers;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1915,  133  days. 

61.  Mixed  Flint.     Described  by  the  Santee  agent  as  variety 
"A."     Flint  corn  of  mixed  colors;    8-  to   12-rowed,  with  very 
long  ears.     Grows  about  7%  ft.  tall;  ears  1  to  2  ft.  above  the 
ground;  1  to  2  ears  per  stalk;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1914,  125  days. 

62.  Mixed  Flour.     Described  by  the  Santee  agent  as  variety 
"B."     Soft  corn,  partly  dent,  of  mixed  colors;  12-  to  16-rowed, 
ears  long  and  thick.     Grows  about  8  ft.  tall;  ears  borne  2y2  to 
4  ft  above  ground;  1  to  2  ears  per  stalk.     Ripened  at  Bismarck, 
1914,  130  days.     Evidently  mixed  with  modern  dent  com. 

Refugee-Sioux.  These  Sioux  are  Cut  Heads  and  Minnesota 
Sioux  who  fled  across  the  Canadian  border  following  the  uprising 
of  1862.  Agent  McDonald  kindly  supplied  the  following  informa- 
tion in  1913:  "To  one  of  these  Sioux  belongs  the  honor  of  be- 
ing the  first  to  plant  seed  in  the  rich  soil  of  the  County  of  Dennis 
(Manitoba).  Early  in  the  70 's  old  Gray  Faced  Bear  planted  some 
corn  in  what  is  now  Mr.  Leverington 's  farm  at  the  elbow  of  the 
Pipestone."  Mr.  McDonald  also  states  that  about  1874  Sam 
Wacanta  brought  some  corn  from  the  Sisseton  Sioux,  from  near 
Sisseton,  S.  D.,  and  planted  it  on  the  Oak  River  Reserve,  and  that 
in  1875  Harry  Hotain,  another  Oak  River  Reserve  man,  brought 
corn  from  Fort  Totten,  N.  D.  It  would  therefore  appear  that  the 
corn  grown  at  the  present  time  by  the. Refugee-Sioux  of  the  Oak 
River  and  Pipestone  Reserves  is  of  mixed  Sisseton  and  Fort  Tot- 


312  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

ten  origin.     The  Fort  Totten  corn  is  evidently  of  Mandan  origin 
and  the  Sisseton  corn  perhaps  of  Minnesota  origin. 

63.  Refugee-Sioux   Mixed.      Although    of    many    colors   it    is 
clearly  but  one  variety;   this  was  proved  by  planting  different 
colors  in  isolated  patches,  the  yield  resulting  being  in  all  cases 
mixed  in  color.     This  corn  and  the  two  Assiniboin  varieties  are 
practically  the  same  and  have  the  appearance  of  mixed  Mandan 
corn  acclimated  farther  north.     This  corn  is  probably  the  earliest 
in  the  world.     Height  of  stalk  2  to  3  ft. ;  ears  borne  1  to  4  in. 
above  the  ground,  and  often  appearing  to  be  growing  right  out 
of  the  ground  instead  of  on  the  stalk.     Many  ears  to  a  hill,  all  8- 
rowed,    seldom    over    4    in.    and    sometimes    only    1^4    in.    long. 
Ripened  at  Bismarck,  1914,  75  days,  and  at  Omaha,  1916,  71  days. 

The  Assiniboin  mixed  corn  from  Canada,  grown  at  Bismarck, 
1916,  ripened  in  76  days.  Grows  27  to  46  in.  high;  each  plant 
has  1,  2,  or  3  suckers,  usually  1  ear  and  1  nubbin,  sometimes  1  ear 
and  2  nubbins;  ears  borne  2  to  10  in.  above  ground. 

64.  Fort  Peck  Assiniboin  Mixed.    Practically  the  same  as  No. 
65  but  a  trifle  later  in  ripening.     Originally  Eee  corn?     The  agent 
at  Fort  Peek  reported  in  1878  that  corn  was  planted  there  for  the 
first  time  that  year,  that  Ree  corn  was  the  variety  grown  and  that 
it  had  proved  very  satisfactory. 

65.  Moose  Mountain  Assiniboin  Mixed.     Practically  the  same 
as  No.  63.     Agent  Cory  of  the  Moose  Mountain  Reserve,  Carlyle, 
Sask.,  states  that  some  seed  of  this  corn  was  obtained  from  the 
Sioux  of  the  Pipestone  Reserve  by   an   Assiniboin   man   of  the 
Moose  Mountain   Reserve  several  years  ago.     Mr.   Cory  has   re- 
sided in  the  Moose  Mountain  region  since  1870  and  has  never  seen 
any  other  variety  of  corn  planted  by  these  Indians.     The  corn  is 
known  locally  as  squaw  corn.     This  variety  and   the  Pipestone 
Sioux  corn  are,  as  far  as  we  could  learn,  the  most  northerly  va- 
rieties grown  on  the  continent. 

Chippewas 

66.  Wisconsin  Blue.     From  the  Wisconsin  Chippewas.     Seems 
to  be  mostly  flint;  small  ears,  8-rowed.     Stalks  slender  and  leafy. 
The  Chippewa  and  Winnebago  corns  seem  more  slender,  with  finer 
leaves  and  stalks  and  smaller  ears  than  the  Upper  Missouri  corns. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  313 

This  is  perhaps  due  to  adaptation  to  less  windy,  and  to  more 
shaded  and  cooler  environment.  At  Bismarck,  1916,  this  corn 
grew  60  to  77  in.  high;  ears  borne  12  to  20  in.  above  ground; 
some  plants  have  no  suckers,  others  have  1  or  2;  each  plant  has  1 
ear  and  half  the  plants  have  1  nubbin  also;  ripened  in  119  days. 

67.  Chippewa    "Sioux"     Corn.      From    Wisconsin.       Mixed 
flint;   8-rowed,  slender  but  long  ears.     Stalks  grow  66  to  90  in., 
ears  borne  12  to  36  in.  above  ground;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1916, 
118  days.     Said  to  be  of  Sioux  origin.     Most  plants  have  1,  2,  or 
3  suckers. 

68.  Chippewa  "Mandan"  Corn.     From  Wisconsin.     Mostly  a 
reddish  color.     At  Bismarck,  1915,  planted  in  rich  ground  it  grew 
exceptionally  rank;   stalks  5  to  9  ft.  tall,  ears  borne  1  to  3  ft. 
above  ground;  did  not  ripen.     In  1916,  at  Bismarck,  grew  50  to 
66  in.  tall;  ears  10  to  14  in.  above  ground;  most  plants  have  1  to 
3  suckers  and  1  ear;  very  few  nubbins;  ripened  in  128  days. 

69.  Bed   Lake  Flint.     From  Bed  Lake  Reserve,   Minn.     Re- 
sembles Mandan  white  flint;  many  ears  shaded  with  pink  or  light 
red;   kernels  often  very  broad;    all  8-rowed,  5%   to   7  in.  long. 
Grows  about  3%  ft.  tall;  ears  4  to  12  in.  above  ground;  often 
several  ears  per  stalk;   ripened  at  Bismarck,  1914,  90  days.     Ac- 
cording to  the  reports  of  the  agent  for  1869,  the  Red  Lake  band 
was  the  only  band  of  Minnesota  Chippewas  that  planted  corn. 
They  had  a  strip  of  good  soil  along  the  shore  of  the  lake  and 
raised  large  crops  of  corn,  and  had  done  so  for  at  least  thirty 
years.     The  Pembina  band,   on  Red   River,   did  not  farm.     The 
Leech  Lake  and  Winnibigoshish  (the  largest  Chippewa  bands)  did 
not  plant  at  all. 

70.  Onion  Lake  Flint.     Obtained  from  Onion  Lake,  Ontario, 
1913.     Has  exactly  the  appearance  of  the  Red  Lake  Flint.     It  is 
grown  in  gardens  at  Onion  Lake  as  a  green  corn,  although  it  is 
extremely  heavy  and  hard  flint  corn.     Rarely  ripens  in  Ontario. 
Not  tested  by  us. 

71.  La  Pointe  Chippewa  White  Flint.     From  Wisconsin.     Sim- 
ilar to  Red  Lake  and  Onion  Lake  Chippewa  flints.     Grows  about 
3l/2  ft.;  ears  borne  8  to  12  in.  high;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1914, 
85  to  90  days. 


314  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

Winnebagoes 

72.  Nebraska  Winnebago  Flint.     Kernels  small,  flint;    colors 
red,  blue,  and  white  mixed  on  each  ear;  short  slender  ears,  some- 
times only   4-rowed.       Foliage  thick   and  light,    stalk   unusually 
thin;  grows  6  to  7  ft.,  ears  15  to  24  in.  above  ground;  ripened  at 
Bismarck,  1914,  110  days.     One  to  3  ears  per  stalk.     Evidently 
brought  from  Minnesota  by  the  Winnebagoes  who  were  shipped  to 
the  Upper  Missouri  with  the  Santee  Sioux  after  the  uprising  of 
1862.     This  variety  and  the  next  one  were  collected  by  Dr.  Gilmore. 

73.  Winnebago  White  Flint.     Pure  white,  8-rowed  flint  from 
Wisconsin.     Grows  4  to  6  ft.;  very  bushy;   ears  borne  10  to  20 
in.  on  stalk;  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1915,  130  days. 

74.  Winnebago  Blue  Flint.     Very  similar  to  our  No.  66  Chip- 
pewa  Blue;  stalk  5  to  7  ft.  tall;  ears  19  to  36  in.  above  ground; 
ripened   at  Bismarck,   1915-,   141    days.     From  Wisconsin.     Some 
plants  have  no  suckers,  others  have  1  or  2. 

Iroquois 

The  following  varieties  are  all  from  the  Iroquois  of  New  York 
State.  They  did  very  well  at  Bismarck,  1915.  In  habits  of 
growth  they  appear  more  like  the  varieties  usually  cultivated  by 
the  whites  than  like  the  common  Indian  sorts. 

75.  Iroquois  Hominy  Corn.    Flint,  8-rowed,  ears  very  long  and 
slender  —  one  ear  is  14  in.  long  and  only  !}{.  in.  in  diameter.  Color 
pure  creamy-white  and  a  heavy  yielder.     Grows  5  to  8  ft.  with 
ears  l1/^  to  3  ft.  above  ground;  has  1  to  3  suckers,  1  to  2  ears,  and 
1  to  2  nubbins;  ripened,  1915,  131  days. 

76.  Iroquois  "It's  Spotted"  Corn.    Flint  corn  of  mixed  color 
with    some   speckled  kernels,   8-   to    12-rowed,   rather   short   ears. 
Stalk  4l/2  to  7  ft.,  ears  borne  8  to  16  in.  up;  has  1  to  3  suckers; 
ripened,  1915,  124  days,  at  Bismarck. 

77.  Iroquois  Soft  Bed.     Flour  corn,  colors  mixed  but  mostly 
pinkish,  8-rowed.     Stalks  5  to  8  ft.;  ears  1  to  2  ft.  above  ground; 
ripened,  1915,  132  days.     This  variety,  and  No.  76,  the  Iroquois 
state,  were  found  ' '  growing  wild ' '  in  the  southern  states  and  were 
brought    home    by    Seneca    war    parties.     Some    plants    have    no 
suckers,  others  one. 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  315 

78.  Iroquois   "Tuscarora   Short-eared."     White    flour    corn, 
mostly   12-rowed  with  broad  kernels  and  very  short  thick  ears. 
Grows  5  to  6  ft.  tall,  ears  borne  15  to  30  in.  up  stalk;  has  2,  3,  and 
4  suckers;  ripened,  1915,  132  days.     Perhaps  brought  north  from 
North  Carolina  long  ago  by  the  Tusearoras. 

79.  Tuscarora  Mixed.     Mixed  flour  corn  with  fairly  long,  8- 
rowed  ears.     Produces  a  number  of  red  ears.     Grows  about  6  ft.; 
ears  1  to  2%  ft.  up  stalk;  ripened,  1914,  105  days.     Evidently  of 
southern  origin. 

Varieties  from  the  Southwest 

80.  Navajo  Cudei  or  Sacred  Corn.     A  white  flour  corn  with  a 
purple  cap  or  dot  on  each  kernel — very  odd.     Very  drought  resist- 
ant.    Produces  large  ears,  some  12  in.  long,  12-  to  16-rowed  and 
very   light   in  weight,    kernels  round   and   usually    rather   small. 
Plants  very  leafy  and  bushy;  in  a  dry  year  about  3  ft.  high  with 
ears  borne  close  to  ground ;  1  to  2  suckers ;  in  favorable  year  60  to 
80  in.  high,  ears  1  to  3  ft.  on  stalk.     A  heavy  yielder.     Ripened  at 
Bismarck,  1914,  in  heavy  late  soil,  115  days,  and  in  1916,  124  days. 

81.  Navajo    Pink-and-White.     Flour    corn,    white    with    many 
kernels  shaded  with  a  fine  shell-pink;  12-  to  16-rowed  with  small 
round  kernels.     Its  habit  is  similar  to  the  Cudei;  ripened,  1914, 
110  days. 

82.  Navajo  White.     Similar  to  above,  but  pure  white. 

83.  Navajo  Bed.     Taller  and  not  as  bushy  as  the  above  sorts; 
long  slender  ears,  8-rowed,  color  mixed  with  red  predominating, 
and  red  showing  on  all  kernels.    Grows  1%  ft.,  ears  borne  1  to  2 
ft.  high;  very  heavy  yielder,  frequently  3  ears  on  a  stalk;  ripened, 
1914,  at  Bismarck,  120  days. 

84.  Navajo  "Rosebud"  Corn.     Mostly  flour  corn,  mixed  col- 
ors, with  long  ears,  usually  8-rowed.     Rather  less  characteristic 
than  other  sorts  from  the  Southwest.     Grows  66  to  92  in.,  ears 
16  to  40  in.  up  stalk;  1  to  2  suckers;  a  good  yielder;  ripe  at  Bis- 
marck, 1914,  110  days. 

85.  Hopi   White.     To    all   appearances   the   same    as   Navajo 
White. 

86.  Hopi  Blue-and-Purple.     Flour  corn,  ears  long,  with  10  to 
16  rows  of  small  round  kernels;  color  dark  blue  to  purple-black, 


316  CORN  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

the  later  color  has  purple  cobs  as  in  the  case  of  the  very  dark 
ears  of  Mandan  Bed.  General  habit  of  growth  similar  to  the 
Moqui  and  Navajo  white  corns;  stalks  5  to  7  ft.,  ears  1  to  2  ft.  on 
stalks.  Good  yielder;  ripe  at  Bismarck,  1914,  120  days. 

87.  Hopi  Pink-and-White.    At  Bismarck,  1916,  grew  60  to  85 
in.  high;  ears  borne  10  to  28  in.  up;  plants  have  1  to  2  suckers, 
1  to  2  ears,  very  few  nubbins.     A  few  ears  ripened  in  124  days. 

88.  Hopi  Blue.     Habit  quite  similar  to  the  above  sort. 

89.  Zufii  Blue.     At  Bismarck,  1916,  grew  60  to  72  in.  taU; 
ears  borne  9  to  18  in.  up;  plants  have  2  to  3  suckers,  and  usually 
1  ear  and  1  nubbin;  ripened  120  days. 

90.  Zufii  White.     A  little  lower  in  growth  than  the  above  sort, 
and  has  fewer  suckers.     A  few  ears  ripened  at  Bismarck,  1916,  in 
120  days. 

91.  Zufii  Pink-and-White.     Not  tested. 

92.  Zufii  Eed-and-Purple.     Not  tested. 

Additional  Varieties 

93.  Cherokee  Mixed  Flint.     Mostly  reddish  in  color.     At  Bis- 
marck, 1914,  grew  9  ft.  high,  ears  4  ft.  above  ground;  very  heavy 
stalk  with  broad  leaves;  ripe  in  130  days. 

94.  Shawnee  Mixed  Flint.     Stalk  8  ft.  tall;  ears  2  to  4  ft.  up 
stalk;  did  not  ripen  at  Bismarck  in  1914  or  1915. 

95.  Wichita  Yellow  Flour.     An  8-rowed  flour  corn,  similar  to 
Pawnee  Yellow  Flour,  but  rather  badly  mixed.     Grows  about  84 
to  110  in.  tall;  ears  21  to  39  in.  up;  has  1  to  2  suckers,  1  to  2 
ears,  and  few  nubbins. 

96.  Wichita  Black  Flour.     Seems  a  fairly  pure  black  or  dark 
blue  flour  corn,  8-rowed;   grows  68  to  99  in.  high  at  Bismarck; 
ripe,  1915,  156  days.     Few  suckers,  1  to  2  ears,  few  nubbins. 

97.  Wichita  Eed  Flour.     The  original  ear  supplied  by  George 
Bent   was    dark    maroon    red   with    a   few   white    seeds.      Seems 
badly  mixed.     At  Bismarck,  1916,  grew  90  to  110  in.  tall;  ears 
borne  1%  to  4  ft.  on  stalk;  did  not  ripen.     Some  plants  have  no 
suckers,  the  others  one  each. 

98.  Sac  and  Fox  Blue  Flour.     From  Iowa.     A  mixed  flour 
corn,  showing  white,  blue,  and  blue-speckled  kernels  on  the  same 
ear.     At  Bismarck,  1916,  grew  84  to  108  in.  tall;  ears  borne  26 


OF  THE  UPPER  MISSOURI  317 

to  40  in.  up;  half  of  plants  are  without  suckers,  most  of  the  rest 
have  only  one;  each  plant  bears  1  ear;  very  few  nubbins;  ripened, 
a  few  ears,  in  125  days. 

99.  Iroquois  White  Popcorn.     Similar  to  White  Eice,  but  with 
very  short  ears.     At  Bismarck,  1916,  grew  56  to  72  in.  tall;  ears 
borne  8  to  26  in.  up;  half  of  plants  have  no  suckers,  the  rest  1; 
bears  1  to  2  ears  and  frequently  1  nubbin;  ripe  in  100  days. 

100.  Iroquois  Eed  Popcorn.     Similar  to  above,  but  of  a  deep 
red  color.     At  Bismarck,  1916,  ripened  in  131  days. 

101.  Iroquois  Blue.    Grows  55  to  65  in.  tall ;  ears  borne  4  to  16 
in.  up;  plants  have  1  to  2  suckers,  1  ear,  very  few  nubbins;  ripe, 
at  Bismarck,  1916,  in  128  days. 

102.  Iroquois  "Tuscarora  White  Squaw."     White  flour  corn, 
ears  8-rowed,  long  and  slender.     Height  of  stalk  6  to  8  ft.    Height 
of  ears  2  to  3  ft.     Eipened,  1915,  142  days. 

103.  Iroquois  Yellow  Flint.     Pure  yellow  flint  8  to  12  rowed. 
Height  of  stalk  5  to  8  ft.     Height  of  ears  1%  to  3  ft.     Ripened, 
1915,  130  days. 

104.  Iroquois  Sweet  Puckered.     Pure  sweet  corn,  color  white. 
Height  of  stalk  5  to  7  ft.     Height  of  ears  2  to  3  ft.     In  unfavor- 
able ground  and  did  not  ripen  in  1915. 


INDEX 


Agriculture      among      village      In- 
dians,  59,   199 
Algonquian    tribes,    34    note,    43, 

44,  207,    233,    234,    235,    257, 
284 

Amahami   (Siouan  tribe).  52  note, 

181 

Apaches   (Prairie ),  45,  184 
Arapahoes,   34   note,   44,   44   note, 

45,  164,     184,     190,     233,     233 
note,   235,    236,    248,    254,    257, 
,263  note,  268  note 

Arikaras,  35,  43  note,  44,  46,  46 
note,  47,  48,  50.  51,  58,  59,  60, 
62,  63,  64,  66,  78,  91,  92,  97, 

101,  102,    103,    103   note,    110, 
115,    117,    118,    123,    127   note, 
129,    138,    148,    152,    153,    157 
note,    158,    159,    161,    163,    165, 
166,    169,    175,    182,    183,    184, 
185,    186,    186    note,    187,    188, 
189,    190,    192,    194,    199,    203, 
206,    206    note,    207,    208,    209, 
210,    211,    212,    212    note,    216, 
216    note,    217   note,    218   note, 
219   note,    221,    223,    223   note, 
224,    230,    233,    237,    240,    248, 
250,    250   note,  '258,    258   note, 
259,    280,    290,    292,    293,    297; 
corn  among,   72,   299,   303 ;   vil- 
lages of,   43,   49,   54,   62,   138 

Arisa  (Skidi  Pawnee  Priest),  89, 
210,  239 

Assiniboin,  45,  48,  50,  69,  145, 
146,  175,  176,  179,  180,  181, 
182;  corn  among,  300,  312 

Atkinson,  Alfred,  73  note 

Atsinas,  45,  233 

Aulneau,   Father,    175,    176 

Beach,  William  W.,  102,  298  note 

Bent,   George,   316 

Big  Ax,   154 

Biggar,  Mr.,  303 

Blackfeet,  45,   189,   233 

Blair,   Mr.,   91   note,    173   note 

Boiler,   Henry  A.,   62,   72,    77,   97, 

102,  117,  130,  137,  147,  152, 
182,  189,  293 


Bouquet,  Col.  Henry,  45 
Bourgmont,  Mons.,  40  note,  145 
Brackenridge,  H.  M.(  101,  162 
Bradbury,  John,  62,  62  note,  71, 

71  note,  74,  89,  138,  152,  154, 

158,    163,    193 
Bridge    (Cheyenne    Indian),    253, 

253  note,   254 
Buffalo  Bird  Woman,  79  note,  84, 

88    note,    115,    120,    123    note, 

128,    153   note,    160,    160   note, 

281,  282,  283  note 

Caddoan  stock,  34,  35,  209,  210, 
230,  250,  277 

Campbell,   Mr.,    195 

Carver,  Jonathan,  43  note,  153, 
181,  192 

Cantaiieda  de  Nagera,  Pedro  de, 
60,  60  note 

Catlin,  George,  70  note,  74,  90, 
101,  116,  133,  137,  146,  158, 
163 

Cenis    (Caddoan  tribe),   259 

Cheyeniies,  34  note,  35  note,  43, 
43  note,  44,  44  note,  45,  49, 
80,  90,  137,  161,  184,  185,  190, 
192,  220  note,  221  note,  222 
note,  224,  224  note,  225,  225 
note,  226,  233,  234,  252,  253, 
253  note,  254,  254  note,  257, 
298  note;  corn  among,  303 

Chittenden,  H.  M.,  64,   65,  97 

Chippewas,  45,  284,  298,  298 
note;  corn  among,  312,  313 

Chippewas  (Red  Lake),  141,  297, 
298,  298  note;  corn  among, 
313 

Clark,  Capt.  W.  P.,  80,  116,  236, 
236  note,  254 

Clark,  Lieut.,  44  note,  65  note 

Clarkson,  Matthew,   278,   279 

Collins,  G.  N.,  286,  307 

Comanches,  45,   185 

Coronado,  Francisco  Vazquez,  35, 
60,  65,  159,  175  note 

Cory,  Agent,  312 

Crees   (Plains), -45,  175,   176,  181 

Crows,   36,   39,  45,   182,   183,   184 


320 


INDEX 


Dakotas    (see   Sioux) 
De  Soto,  Hernando,  65 
Dinsmore,  Dr.  S.  R.,  251,  289 
Dorsey,  G.  A.,  80  note,  127  note, 
129,    129   note,    134,    164,    166, 
203    note,    206,    206    note,    210 
note,    211,    211   note,    212,    212 
note,   216   note,    217   note,    218 
note,    223   note,   230,   230  note, 
233    note,    235,    235    note,    239 
note,    242   note,    243,    249,    250 
note,   251,   252,   257,    257  note, 
258  note,  294,  295  note 
Dougherty,    John,     78,     81,     113, 
115,    119,    120   note,    124,    133 
note,  148,  151  note,  162,  170 
Dull  Knife   (Cheyenne),  253 
Dunbar,   J.    B.,    59   note,    60,    64, 
75,    78,    84,    84   note,    94,    102, 
103,    110,    114,    118,    119,    119 
note,    124,   153,    157  note,    158, 
159,    162,    163,    191 

Earth-lodge  village,   50,   52 
Edwards  (a  trader),  193 
Elk  River   (Cheyenne  Indian),  44 
note;  his  mother,  44  note 

Featherstonhaugh,  G.  W.,  123, 
123  note 

Fire  chief   (Omaha),  243 

Fletcher,  Alice,  81,  81  note,  113, 
134,  154,  158,  159,  164,  165, 
166,  170,  215  note,  228  note, 
229  note,  230  note,  237,  241 
note,  242  note,  250,  259  note 
260,  276  note 

Foiitenelle,  Henry,  39  no'e,  40 
note,  229 

Forsyth,  Thomas,  173,  173  note 

Fort  Berthold,  90,  97,  103,  103 
note,  118,  188,  293,  297,  299, 
300 

Fort  Buford,   103 

Fort  Clark,   195 

Fort  La  Reine,   181 

Fort  Peck,  300,   302,  312 

Fort  Robinson,   253 

Fort  Snelling,   124  note 

Fort  Totten,  303,  310,  311,  312 

Fort  Union,   195,   197 

Four  Bears,  158 

Frost  ,  Indian  agent,  36  note 

Gallatin,  Albert,   59  ?iote 

Gilder,  Robert  F.,  289 

Gilmore,  Dr.,  295,  300,  303,  304, 

307,  308,  309,  314 
Gray  Faced  Bear,  311 
Grinnell,  George  Bird,  44  note, 


90,    222    note,    224,    224    note, 
225,  227,  252,  254 
Gros  Ventres,  47  note,    182,   183, 
188,  189,  233,  236 

Hako    ceremony,    237,    249,    276, 

276  note,  277,  278 
Harahays,    159 
Hayden,  F.  V.,  63,  64,  65,  71,  80, 

102,    118,    137,    163,    165,    169, 

188,   196 
Henry,  Alexander,  43  note,  52,  53 

note,   54,   54  note,   55,   56  note, 

61,  77,    89,     92,    93,    94,    101, 
130,    136,    137,    138,    145,    152, 
153,    157,    158,    159,    161,    165, 
181,    187,    190,    192,    194 

Hidatsas,   36,   39,   50,   52,   53,   58, 

62,  63,  64,  65,  65  note,  66,   77, 
78,    82,    83    note,    88    note,    91, 
93,   94,   97,   101,   102,   103,    103 
note,    110,    115,   116  note,    117, 
118,    120,    127,    128,    128   note, 
129,    130,    130   note,    138,    148, 

153,  154,    160,  166,    169,  172, 
181,    182,    183,  184,    187,  190, 
192,    193,    206,  207,    208,  209, 
217,    221,    222,  223,    230,  233, 
237,    244,    248,  251,    268,  275, 
280,    281,    290,  293,    297;  corn 
among,    71,    72,  300,    301,  302, 
303;  village  of,  53  note,  54 

Holley,  Mrs.,   187 
Hollins,  W.  G.,  47  note,  48 
Hopis,  308;  corn  among,  315 
Hotain,  Harry,   311 
Hunter,  John  D.,  152,  261 
Hurons,  298  note 

letan   (chief),  80 

lowas,  40,  40  note,  91,  106,  136, 
209,  209  note,  244,  251,  252, 
295,  296;  corn  among,  303 

Iroquois,  285,  298 ;  corn  among, 
314 

Iroquois  agriculture,  69 

Irving,  John  T.,   100,   135 

Irvin,  Rev.  S.  M.,   251 

James,   Edv/in,   84 

Jeredot,    Mons.    (the   elder),    278 

Jones     [John]      Paul,     279,     279 

note,   280 
Joutel,  Henri,  259  note,  277 

Kansa,  59,  66,  91,  107,  108,  110, 

154,  161,  244,  252,  295,  296 
Killistinoes,    181 

Kiowas,  45,  183,  183  note,  184, 
185,  254 


321 


Kipp,  James,   65 
Knifechief,   Mrs.   Charles,    307 
Kroeber,    A.    L.,    233    note,    235, 
235  note 

La  Flesche,  Francis,  81,  81  note, 
113,  134,  154,  158,  159,  164, 
165,  166,  170,  215  note,  228 
note,  229  note,  230  note,  241 
note,  242  note,  250,  259  note, 
260 

Larocque,  F.  A.,  182,  182  note, 
183 

Larpenteur,   Charles,   161,   182 

Le  Raye,  Charles,  57,  62,  66.  93, 
157 

Leve,rington,  Mr.,   311 

Lewis  and  Clark,  47,  48,  49,  62, 
66,  101,  136,  146,  154,  159, 
162,  172,  186  note,  187,  188, 
193 

Lisa,   Manuel,   194 

Little  Crow,  124  note 

Little  Raven,  44  note,  154,  158, 
194 

Longfellow,   H.  W.,   235 

Long  Fox   (Assiniboin),  300 

Long,  Major  S.  H.,  64,  65,  66 
note,  75,  81  note,  84,  84  note, 
100,  133  note,  135  note,  146, 
151  note,  154,  157  note,  161, 
162  note,  251 

Lowie,   Robert  H.,   247  note,   271 

Mandanes,   61 

Mandans,  35,  36,  39,  43,  43  note, 
47,  47  note,  48,  48  note,  50, 
51,  52,  57,  58,  59,  60,  62,  63, 
64,  66,  69,  78,  79,  80,  87,  88, 
91,  92,  93,  94,  97,  99,  101, 
102,  103,  103  note,  115,  117, 
118,  127  note,  128  note,  129, 
130,  133,  133  note,  136,  138, 
141  note,  145,  146,  148,  152, 
153,  154,  157  note,  158,  160, 
161,  162,  165,  166,  169.  172, 
175,  176,  179,  180,  181,  182, 
183,  184,  185,  187,  188,  189, 
190,  191,  192,  193,  195,  197, 
200,  204,  206,  207,  208,  209, 
218,  218  note,  219,  219  note, 
220,  220  note,  221,  822,  223, 
230,  233,  237,  244,  247,  248, 
251,  261,  262,  262  note,  267, 
268,  268  note,  274,  275,  280, 
281,  289,  290,  291,  292,  293, 
295,  295  note,  297,  298,  299; 
corn  among,  70,  70  note,  72, 
73,  74,  299,  300,  301,  302,  303, 
308,  310,  312,  313;  village  of, 
53  note,  54,  56  note,  61  note 


Marston,  Major,  91  note 
Matthews,     Dr.     Washington,     36 

75,   89,  97,   102,  141,   148,   196 

197,   240,   275 
Maximilian,  Alexander  Philip,   56 

56  note,  63,  65,  74,  80,  89,  90 

91,     99,     101,     124,     142,     152 

153,    195,    222,    248,    268,    269 

270,    272,    275,    280,    291,    292 

293,    295   note,    301    note,    302' 

303,  308 

McDonald   (Sioux  Agent)    311 
McKenzie,   Col.,   253 
Medicine   Bear,   189 
Merrill,   Rev.   Moses,    39   note,   80 

80  note,  159,  193 
Michaux,  F.  A.,  108 
"Minaki,"  of  the  Mandans,  54 
Minitarees,   63,   78,   91,    101    222 

275,   276,   292 
Minnesota  region,  35 
Missouris,    40,    63,    91,    100,    106. 

110,   244,   296 
Mooney,    James,    183,    183    note, 

254,  300 

Moquis,  corn   among,   316 
Morgan,  Lewis  H.,   102,  298  note 
Moves    Slowlv     (Mandan    priest 

263  note,  268 
Murie,  James,  295,  306,  308 

Navajos,  286,  303,  308;  corn 
among,  315,  316 

Old   Crane,    181 

Omahas,  36,  39,  40,  40  note,  50, 
50  note,  58,  60,  64,  65,  66,  69, 
78,  79,  80,  81,  81  note,  91, 
104,  105,  110,  113,  114,  115, 
119,  124,  134,  148,  152,  154, 
157,  158,  159,  162,  164,  165, 
166,  170,  181,  190,  191,  192, 
193,  200,  204,  205,  208,  209, 
209  note,  215  note,  228,  229, 
233,  237,  238,  240,  241,  242, 
243,  244,  250,  251,  259,  260 
note,  261,  268  note,  277,  280, 
290,  295,  296,  297  note;  corn 
among,  74,  303,  304,  305,  306, 
308,  310 

Osages,  59,  91,  107,  108,  110, 
152,  230,  244,  250,  251,  261, 
278,  279,  296 

Otoes,  40,  40  note,  43,  50,  58,  59, 
64,  77  note,  80,  91,  100,  105, 
306,  110,  114,  159,  190,  193, 
209,  209  note,  244,  295,  296, 
297  note;  corn  among,  74,  303, 
305 

Ottawas,  298 


322 


INDEX 


Ontagamies,  153 

Owen,  Mary  A.,  135,  135  note 

Panana   (Arikara),  43  note,   61 

Pananis,    61 

Panimaha,   145 

Parker,  A.  C.,   69,  69  note 

Parker,  Rev.  Samuel,  146,  154, 
163 

Pawnees,  35,  45,  46,  46  note,  50, 
51,  58,  59  note,  60,  61,  64,  65, 
66,  69,  77  note,  78,  80,  84,  90, 
91,  92,  94,  100,  103,  104,  110, 
114,  115,  118,  124,  129,  133 
note,  134,  135,  146,  153,  154, 
157,  157  note,  158,  159,  162 

163,  174,    190,    191,    199,    200' 
200   note,    203,    204,    205   note, 
206,    207,    208,    209,    210     216 
217,    221    note,    223,    224,    230? 
233,    237,    238,    239,    240,    248 
249,    250,    250   note,    257,    258 
276,    276   note,    277,    280     289? 
289    note,    290,    294,    295,    297 
note;   Chaui   tribe  of,   46-   corn 
among,    69,    73,    74,    300     303 
306,  307,  308;  Kitkchahki  tribe' 
of,  46,  59,  59  note;  Pitahauerat 
tribe    of,    46;    Republican    tribe 
of.    133    note,    145;    Skidi    tribe 
of,    46,    59,    80  note,    127   note, 
129   note,    135   note,    157   note 

164,  166,    203   note,    206   note 
210,    210   note,    211,    211   note, 
216   note,    217   note,    218   note 

239,  239    note,    240,    249     249 
note,    257,    257  note,    294'    295 
note,  306,  308 

Perrin  dn  Lac,  F.  M.,  44  49 
185,  187 

Picotte,    195 

Pike,  Z.  M.,  59,  59  note,  66  note, 
133  note,  145 

Pipestone  quarry,  39 

Ponkas,  36,  39,  39  note,  40,  50 
note,  58,  59,  64,  66,  91,  104, 
105,  105  note,  110,  117  141 
190,  191,  209,  209  note,  230 

240,  241,    243,    244,    260   note, 
295,  296,  297  note:  corn  among, 
74,    303,    305,    307,    308,    309, 
310,   311 

Potawatamis.  234 
Prairie  du  Chien,  91  note,  192 
Prescott,   P.,   80 
Primeau,   Charles,    187,    188 
Pueblo    Indians,     174,     175    note 
199,  199  note,  303 

Quapaws,  138 


Quivira  Indians,   60,   159 

Rees,  47  note,  97,  182,  189,  254, 
254  note,  293;  corn  amojip:, 
299,  300,  301,  302,  303,  310, 
312 

Renaudiere,  45 

Ricara  (see  Arikaras) 

Robinson,  J.  H.,  109  note 

Sac  and  Fox  tribe,  91  note,  105 
note,  142,  153,  173  note,  192, 
251 

Saulteurs,    61 

Scattered  Corn  (Mandan  woman), 
87,  102,  116,  145,  160,  204, 
264,  268,  268  note,  275,  2SO, 
281,  290,  292,  293,  302,  303 

Schookraft,  H.  R.,  80,  116,  123 
note,  235,  298  note 

Seneca    Indians,    314 

Shoshonis,    182 

Siouan  stock,  34,  35,  39.  183, 
207;  tribes,  36,  40,  43  note, 
44,  45,  47,  48,  49,  50,  58,  62, 
80,  93,  100,  110,  116,  123,  124, 
note,  142,  146,  176,  179,  180, 
184,  185,  186,  187,  188,  189, 
192,  198,  199,  200,  204,  230", 
233,  238,  240,  243,  248,  264, 
277;  corn  among,  303,  304, 
309  310,  311,  312;  Dakota, 
188;  Minneconjou,  186  note, 
310;  Santee,  142,  186  note, 

310,  311,     314;     Teton,     187; 
Uncpapa,   189 

Sioux     (Refugee,    Canada),    corn 

among,   303,    311 
Sioux  (Sisseton),  69;  corn  among, 

311,  312 

Skene,  W.  F.,  109  note 

Smet,  Father  Pierre  J.  de,  63,  90, 

97,   142 

Snake  Indians,   183 
Spinden,  H.  J.,  289,  289  note 
Springer,   Joseph,    244   note,    251, 

303 

Standing  Bull   (Oglala  Sioux),  49 
Sturtevant,  Lewis,  295,  302 
Suhtai  tribe,  224 

Tanner,   John,    298 

Trudeau,   J.   B.,   46,   47   note,   48, 

51,   52  note,  184,   186,   192 
Tuscaroras,   315 

Upper  Missouri  country,  region 
of  34,  35,  60,  91  note,  198, 
286;  tribes  of,  34,  45,  48,  50, 


INDEX 


323 


65,    66,    70,    92,    144,   237,   238, 
290 

Verendrye,     Pierre     Gaultier    Va- 

.rennes,  Sieur  do  la  (the  elder),  43 

note,   47,    51,    60,    61,    61   note, 

136,    145,    146,    158,    166,    172, 

176,    180,    181,    192 

Verendrye   (the  younger),  43  note 

Wacanta,   Sam,  311 

Wichitas,  60,  66,  174,  210,  216 

Wilkinson,  Lieut.,  66 


Will,   G.   F.,   289,   289  note,   292, 

297  note,  302 
Will,   Oscar  H.,   300 
Wilson,   Rev.   Gilbert  L.,    82,    160 

note,  293 

Wilson,  M.  L.,  73  note,  77  note 
Winnebagoes,      298,      312;      corn 

among,  314 

Wisconsin  Indians,  153 
Woodhull,  Spafford,  304 
Wyeth  (a  trader),  197 

Zuiiis,   corn   among,   316 


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